FEAR: Rise of Peace
by Sarenieth
Summary: Peace. No one ever said it would be easy. With the wrath of Alma Wade unleashed upon the world how could one ever hope to succeed at peace? But, is her wrath truly that? An anger so deep that it never ends? She seeks vengeance upon Armacham and all who have wronged her. The remaining son seeks peace. Perhaps her vengeance and his peace are the same? Follow them to find your peace.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue: Rise of the Terror Guard**

 _Chapter 1: Not today… Not ever…_

' _You're not coming, are you? I'm going to die here alone. I don't want to die with them...' Jin Sun-Kwon spoke with sorrow and a chill within her soft voice._

Hearing this made the Point Man narrow his eyes from behind his mask, tightening his grip on the G2A2 Assault Rifle that had carried him up to that point. Behind him was a trail of blood and destruction caused in mere hours. Behind him also laid what ever remained of Douglas Holiday, a friend to both Jin and the Point Man himself. The mute super-soldier was not about to let the same fate fall upon the medic who had always believed in him since the start of his career in F.E.A.R. Perhaps even before that career.

'I need to move...' He thought to himself as he opened the first door. He had just now entered a relatively barren room, with elevators to his right and three T.V.s just above a rectangular pot holding some type of plant. What kind, he did not care to acknowledge. He had to get to Jin before anyone else. He approached the next set of doors, opening them with the same violent manner he had the last pair.

He was greeted by an office with two desks, no doubt a security office as it was filled with metal crates containing grenades. Three assault rifles were placed, resting against the wall. Two medkits, and armour accompanied by repair kits should anyone have need of them were also there. Unfortunately, he did not need any of these items. He moved through the rather messy room that looked like someone had left it in a hurry, ignoring the phone that had a message. Usually he'd listen to see if he could find out any information, but Jin did not have that kind of time.

He approached the final set of doors, however stopped briefly as he heard voices outside. Replicas. More of them.

"Stack up, on me." The Point Man heard one of the loud clones command however many others there were.

He took a deep breath before kicking the door open, at first being greeted with nothing but the building's emptiness. Again, papers were scattered across the floor and even a chair was tipped over. All, including the Point Man, were behind a desk once used to take information from people seeking to use the subway. He then heard the Replicas again. This reassured him somewhat. Whilst the upper echelon of their troops, such as specialists and a lot of true Commanders spoke quietly, the lower ranks and cannon fodder did not care. They were needing more discipline in this regard, but he knew his mother did not care about the lives of those useless means to an end.

"Go! Go! Go!" One of them shouted, whilst a more quieter voice told everyone to stay alert.

These clone soldiers, well, they seemed to literally be pouring from any crack they could find. They were split into three groups. Two directly ahead, separated from the other group by a thin wall. The third was to the Point Man's right, behind another wall. 'Damn them...' He growled mentally before sliding to cover behind the long counter that acted as a desk. They had not yet spotted him, but with the open doors, he was not oblivious to the fact stealth would not be on his side for long.

He sat down his Assault Rifle and picked two grenades from his belt and primed them. When he heard the footsteps of the soldiers, he tossed them over the desk quickly. Then he grabbed his rifle again and awaited the boom.

"GRENADE! GET D-" A Replica shouted, but it was too late. Two whole squads were wiped out with a mere two fragmentation grenades.

He burst from his cover and looked around, seeing nothing but the dead bodies of approximately ten Replicas. It was quite the feat, as they were no doubt a part of a fifteen man assault group. Which would mean that the remaining five were on the other side of the wall. The ones that would be rather close to him right now…

Soon he saw a Recon peek his head from around the corner and fire. This forced the Point Man to enable his heightened reflexes, which seemed to make time for him slow down as he quickly did a flip to avoid the bullets. Once he landed he began firing on the Recon soldier, killing him immediately with precision shots aimed directly at the Replica's head.

Of course every action has an outcome and a consequence. The outcome of this action was, sure, he dispatched the Recon soldier. The consequence? His four allies poured from around the corner, lost without the leaders that were a part of the other groups, and began firing wildly at him. The Point Man knew it wouldn't be long until his reflexes lowered again, so he had to act quickly. Easy enough for the super soldier.

He used his reflexes to dodge the barrage of bullets and close in on the Replicas. When he was near, he fired a shot in one of the soldier's heads before throwing his own weapon in the air. Using this time, he quickly grabbed ahold of a Replica's neck and moved around so that the poor clone could absorb the bullets his comrade was firing.

Once the bullet-sponge had completed its job and the Replica had to reload, Point Man kicked it straight into the offending Replica and quickly grabbed his rifle which had finally fallen back down. He spun around with lightning fast speed and quickly delivered four bullets to the skull of the third victim, leaving the fourth who currently had the bullet-sponge on top of him for last. He walked up to the struggling clone, and placed a single bullet in the Replica's head.

" _Are you there?"_ He heard Jin Sun-Kwon ask him through his earpiece. " _Who are these p-"_

" _Ma'am, you're going to have to come with us to the rooftops for extraction. F.E.A.R. Coordinator Betters is on his way with a chopper for evac."_ A soldier was heard through the earpiece. By this time, the Point Man had doubled his speed, not knowing who the men were.

" _Who are you and your friends, soldier?"_ Jin asked.

" _We're with S.E.A.R."_ The man replied.

" _S.E.A.R.?"_

" _We're the guys who either come after F.E.A.R., or we work in the shadows along with F.E.A.R. We usually mop up your guys' messes. Make sure nothing is left. Come on. This hospital is a no-go zone and we need to get you out of here, miss Kwon."_

" _Alright, but I'm not leaving without the Point Man."_ She said with a soft sigh.

" _Sir! Replicas incoming! Get to cover!"_ Another soldier called out before all the Point Man could hear was static and gunfire.

" _Get here quickly!"_ Jin said before cutting communications.

By then the Point Man was almost there, he had already entered the hospital. The next obstacle that stood in his way was getting to the sixth floor where Jin and those soldiers were. It was evident that this building had to be crawling with Replicas and God knew what else. Alma's presence, well, the Point Man could feel it rather strongly. She had to be close by. Where that red-dressed and raven haired girl was… all kinds of unholy things were not too far away as well. He absolutely **hated** that feeling he got when Alma was around. Something the Point Man wished he hadn't needed to say about his mother. It was unfortunate that where she walked, death and misery followed.

* * *

He walked the halls of the hospital, eventually making it to the sixth floor which was covered in Replica corpses. What was strange was, after the third Alma's presence seemingly vanished. He only ran into minimal resistance and what he liked to refer to as 'spooks' were not really there to begin with. Something wasn't right, that much he knew. However, he felt as if the rest of the time in the hospital was going to be a breeze. With that said, he knew the extraction was going to be a pain in the ass. The Replicas in the area and surrounding area would not let them leave without a fight. At this time, he accepted the fact that his mother had left. But the question was, for what? Something must have caught her attention if she left her son and forces in such a hurry. She hadn't even acquired Jin's life. It was a situation most queer.

The Point Man rounded a corner that led straight to the sixth floor staircase and he ran into six men in similar armor to him holding their weapons right at him. "Hold your fire! You the F.E.A.R. team's pointman?" One of the soldiers asked, and the super soldier recognized his voice as one of the soldiers in Jin's communicator.

He simply nodded in response. "Alright, Betters has landed on the roof and Miss Kwon is already on board the chopper. Only reason we're here is because we were ordered to wait for you. C'mon, time is of the essence. Extra Replica forces are inbound to our location, and know we've a chopper waiting for us up top." The soldier said before they all stood up and led the way up the stairs.

The Point Man wondered how they could have acquired a helicopter so soon after the Origin explosion. Sure, some time had passed, but he assumed all forms of air transport would be downed for at least a week due to the nuclear-sized explosion that killed off quite a bit of the city. As he and the S.E.A.R. team members made their way up the stairs, his mind drifted off to Holiday. He was a great man and did not deserve to die in the way he did. Looking back at it, the Point Man couldn't help but feel like he could have done something to save his friend's life. Then again, he knew all too well that this world was not all about the happy endings one might hear in a children's story.

"Sir, this is Griffon. We're comin' out of the staircase, do not fire. I repeat, do not fire." The S.E.A.R. team leader said in a Scottish accent, waiting for confirmation before opening the door.

"Copy that, Griffon. Your wings are ready, double time it soldier. We've Replicas pouring into the building as we speak." The pilot responded quickly.

"Roger. Come on men, let's get the hell out of here before our clone friends show up and shoot the hell out of us!" Griffon called before bursting through the doors.

He moved to the chopper and waited, waving his arm towards the chopper as his squad and the Point Man all hopped on board. When everyone was accounted for, Griffon himself hopped up into the helicopter.

"We're all good, Hornet. Get us the fuck out of here!" A soldier called up to the pilot, and having heard this, the pilot began takeoff.

Point Man then saw Jin sitting across from him, and couldn't help but smile. Unfortunately he had his mask on, or Miss Kwon would have seen his happy and relieved smile.

"Hey there, big guy." She said tiredly. She had been through a lot in the last twenty four hours and everyone, F.E.A.R. and S.E.A.R. alike needed rest.

Betters was sitting beside Kwon and decided to fill everyone else in on the situation. "We're headed to an underground bunker hidden within the forest surrounding Fairport. Only we know about it, so keep it a secret no matter what. All of our lives, including your own, depend upon that knowledge and whether or not it stays a secret. I've dispatched a second F.E.A.R. team to infiltrate the Armacham Secondary Facility here in town. Haven't heard from them in quite a while though, so prepare yourselves. I may be sending you veterans out there to investigate. The entire city is a damned warzone. You can't so much as throw a dead cat without hitting a Replica, insane looking nightmare-fuel, ATC or their Mercenary buddies, or even just civilians looking for blood amongst the chaos. Yeah, shit really has hit the fan."

Griffon nodded, "Aye. Just to make shit worse for you lot, Fairport is closed off as of right now. That means I wouldn't expect any military help. They labeled everyone in the city as hostile, an' there are also rumors about them sending 'reclamation' forces in 'ere to make sure we get our shit together. They're using their little blockade legally and under the excuse of 'protecting everyone until the situation is resolved.' They won't shoot us on sight, but we caught a glimpse of a small squad gunning down civies not too far from 'ere." The Scotsman informed them all.

Betters then continued, "We've intercepted some communications from Delta Force and Armacham. According to the information retrieved from that bitch you discovered earlier in this clusterfuck, Genevieve Aristide, Armacham has taken a wounded SFOD-D squad code named 'Dark Signal' captive. They're planning to make their way to the hospital we just left sometime within the next few weeks."

Griffon interrupted him, "Knowing Armacham, they are going to perform some experiments on the poor bastards. Luckily we know where to strike. Betters, on behalf of S.E.A.R. I'd like to participate in this mission, whenever it happens."

Betters nodded with a small smile, "Permission granted, Griffon. You will be sitting out the op to find my second F.E.A.R. team, if that's the case."

Then the Scotsman frowned, his blue eyes glaring at Betters. "How about I go both times, and my men just rest up during the reclamation of F.E.A.R. team number two?"

The coordinator smiled and nodded, "Alright. If you think you can handle it."

"I'm from Scotland, of course I can handle it. If I couldn't I think I'd be dead back in the water plant, mate." Griffon replied quickly, sounding somewhat offended.

And so the group flew off towards the forest. Point Man was relieved that Jin was saved from a fate similar to Holiday's. He just was not amused to hear that he was going to be placed back out onto the field soon. Sure, he was bred for war and was actually used to it. Didn't mean he had to like countless days on a battlefield where his closest people nearly die or do die and then a brief period of rest to tease him before he got sent out again. At least he wouldn't be completely alone this time, and Griffon seemed like a man who could hold himself up against all odds. In fact, just the man's posture reminded the Point Man of himself.

* * *

 _ **Hello everyone, and thank you for making it this far into the first chapter of F.E.A.R. Rise of Peace. I am sorry if this first chapter seems a bit... I don't really know the word for it. Not up to par? The only reason it is this short is because I felt putting in the journey to the rooftop, or even where Jin was would have been a bit long and drawn out. A run-on. I know it's awkward for me to be saying that, considering for DA:GoE I usually upload 6k word chapters (Good news, I will for this story once we're set on our way), but I really didn't feel it necessary for this chapter. So, with my apology should come the primary reason behind it. And that's simple. I really only wanted to introduce most of the people we will see pretty much every chapter. The Point Man, Griffon and the S.E.A.R. team, Betters, and Jin. I can't say when the next chapter will be posted, but it definitely will be what I like to call a "development chapter." Don't know what that is? I don't know how to explain it, but, who needs to when you will see it soon enough. Another note I should add for you lot is that it will mostly be seen through the eyes of the Point Man. Sometimes it will change as we go to a different part of the action, but, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. See you next time guys!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Prologue: Rise of the Terror Guard**

 _Chapter 2: A New Home and a Mysterious Girl_

 _Two hours after the events at the hospital:_

The Point Man had been laying down on his bed for a nice and relaxing minute or two. He had to admit, for a hidden base that served the true military as a place of preparation and solace, it felt and looked pretty damned good. Usually, he'd be given literally nothing to sleep on. Nice, cold, hard dirt as a bed. Oh how he hated missions like those, even sand felt better to sleep on, or snow. That was saying quite a lot considering both are uncomfortable. Alas, his life was not supposed to be comfortable or calm. It was meant to be the life of a machine with blood flowing through it. A walking meat-machine whose sole purpose in life was to be a soldier. He knew a million ways to kill a man. Slowly, quickly, painfully, peacefully... But he only knew a few things to be able to hold conversation.

That was… if he wanted to talk. Many people had the misconception he couldn't speak. In fact, that misconception was brought on by himself. He just doesn't speak. He wasn't meant to speak. He was meant to receive orders, carry them through, and move on to the next mission. Not to mention the poor man had a disturbing life, never met his mother, father, if he even had one. He didn't think he did, Alma never mentioned a father. Ever. He had spoken with his mother countless times in the past, in secret, never once had she spoke to him of a father, one who had allowed her to be pregnant with he and his brother. But, that's where it unsettled the Point Man. If he wasn't the lab experiment through and through like he and his brother thought they were… who the hell was their father?

'No point...' Point Man thought to himself quietly, and with that statement the thoughts faded from his mind.

He went back to marveling about how damned comfortable the bed was. Seriously. It was like heaven to him. That, and the rather sizable room. Sure, he shared it with one other person whom he assumed never got assigned to his room yet, but it was still sizable compared to the hellhole he was sleeping in day in and day out.

'Oh…' He thought again, he realized he hadn't slept in a busy 48 hours.

The Point Man didn't complain, but it's pretty reasonable to him now why he was so tired. The last 48 hours had been nothing but a small scale war. He had friends killed, he had killed countless of things, and he had been running nearly constantly. The only times he had to rest were in a helicopter, and were always brief and never lasting. For instance, when the mission should have ended and the remaining forces of the first F.E.A.R. team could rest… their damned helicopter got shot out of the sky. With those thoughts fresh in his mind, and the now-sluggish limbs of his body, the tired man closed his eyes. The man hated to admit it, but even the most perfected soldier had limits. Sleep being one of them. Maybe that's why he was seeing so much crazy stuff, sleep deprivation.

'Right…' He thought again quite sarcastically as his entire mind seemingly began to turn off.

That was until he heard the door open. Normally he would have quickly moved and put his mask on, however, he was a bit too tired and careless at the moment to give a damn if someone saw his face. So, he simply went to analyzing the footsteps of the person who remained quiet. The steps the person took were actually quite soft, and anyone with normal hearing would have some difficulty hearing them. Judging by the sounds as well, it was a casual yet still formal walk. Those sounds… that sweet smell…

When the door closed, a voice was heard. It was by all definitions a rough voice. It was obvious the speaker had been through a lot of stress, and his vocal cords were rarely used so there was no way they were used to speaking. Thus, the low pitched, and rough voice was also somewhat quiet.

"Jin…"

The woman that was on her way to put her items away in her small dresser nearly jumped a foot in the air, and the Point Man heard her breath hitch as if scared. He opened his eyes and looked at the woman who was staring at him, frozen like a deer in the headlights. She couldn't believe he had just spoken to her, sure she had heard his voice before but… he rarely ever said anything.

"Sorry for spooking you." He apologized, he really hadn't meant to scare her.

"N-No… it's not that it's just… Why didn't you respond back there? I-I mean I know you don't-" Jin asked nervously, making the Point Man smile. He knew she changed the topic from the now to the then.

"I don't speak out on the field, and I rarely ever speak at all." The Point Man informed her. "Tired?"

Jin nodded, "Yeah. I asked Betters if I could stay with you, and he said he didn't see the harm in it as long as I don't bother you. So I figured I'd put my stuff away and pass out."

The man nodded with a small smile before closing his eyes again. "Then by all means, make yourself comfortable. I'd keep you company, but I need rest."

The door was locked, Jin was going to turn off the lights soon and he'd be in total peace, for a few hours. He was curious why Jin would request to be roommates with him, but he figured she had her reasons and would leave it at that. Right now, one thing was on his mind. Sleep. Oh, that beautiful word.

* * *

Griffon sat down at the round table he and his squad had picked for themselves. There were quite a few soldiers in the cafeteria as well, and the base was not as abandoned as anyone had thought it would be. When Betters brought it up, Griffon himself thought it was going to be a small, and cramped space. This was not the cause, the 'small' base was actually pretty much a full sized facility. The Mess Hall was actually pretty comfortable, the chairs were nice, the food was outstanding...

"Can't believe the fuck actually had us thinkin' this place was a closet." Griffon said with a chuckle before biting into his ham sandwich.

Rodney, or Roddy the Demo-man chuckled, "Yeah. I don't trust secret facilities after we almost got our asses cooked in that Origin facility."

Roddy as his nickname hinted at, was S.E.A.R.'s Demolition Expert. He was a thirty five year old man and literally looked like a tank on two legs. To back this up, Griffon had seen the man take a shotgun blast to the chest and still stand long enough to crush the Replica's neck. His hair was shaved down, but he had a full-grown red beard. Bluish-Grey eyes as well.

Unlike F.E.A.R., the S.E.A.R. was a team, a lone team. Ten men strong, split into two groups but all coordinating from the same Commander, and that was Griffon. Griffon himself was commanded by Betters. They were much smaller than F.E.A.R., but well trained. Their name was simple, Second Encounter Assess and Recover. More or less, it meant they came in right after the First Encounter Assault Recon and finished up their job, picking valuable data, clearing up any remaining baddies of any origin, and then making sure there was nothing dangerous left behind. They also unofficially were there to help F.E.A.R. should they have ever needed it, as the two groups were always on the field at the same time. Something to compare them to would be a shadow. Whilst F.E.A.R. was the body, they were a shadow connected to the body. This proved true even for the Origin Facility, and they were lucky to get out of it alive. Well, luck had nothing to do with anything. Betters issued a fall-back command when readings in the area hinted at an explosion.

"You know, F.E.A.R.'s Point Man really gives me the creeps. Guy is about as silent as death. And that mask..." One of the team members asked.

Griffon nodded, washing down the bite he was currently chewing with some beer. "Aye. Always wears that thing, not even taking it off for a breather. Some say he isn't human under that suit and mask, but with the intel we gathered we know exactly what he is. Guy isn't even mute like he plays himself to be. Just doesn't talk, or make any sounds with his vocal cords really. Don't ask me how, lad took a gunshot to the thigh and didn't even acknowledge it 'til Miss Kwon patched him up after he got thrown out twenty feet from that building we hit first."

"You mean the Wastewater Treatment Plant?" Roddy asked.

"Aye, that's the place. Apparently the cover-up was somethin' like a 'gas-line rupture...'"

"I thought it was?" Rodney said, he was confused as he had thought that **was** what had happened.

Griffon scoffed, "Yeah and my arse smells like rosebuds. It was that creepy little girl that stalks that Point Man like he's her father." Griffon replied as he took another happy bite from his sandwich.

"How do you know that?" A female team member asked, sounding just as confused as Roddy did.

"It's fuckin' obvious Megan, the little girl evaporated an entire squad of Delta and attacked us. Not to mention, why the hell would a gas line on the second floor of a Water Treatment Plant cause a fiery explosion? Nothing set it off, it's just a cover story for all those little lads and lassies at home to be able to sleep at night after their mum's and da's tuck 'em in." Griffon chuckled, looking at his entire team. "Lookie 'ere S.E.A.R. ... Shit is goin' to be going down and we have to be ready for it. Your orders now are as follows; finish your food, get rest, do whatever tomorrow... and then three course PT starts the next day at 0400 hours. Understood? I've gotta be goin' to a meeting with Betters." With that, Griffon finished his sandwich and pounded on the table with both palms before standing up and leaving the cafeteria, letting his team socialize together whilst he got down to business. Of course, the man didn't leave his beer behind.

* * *

Griffon stepped into the command room and walked over to Betters who was engaged in conversation with two operators. He simply stood there and took a drink of his beer, not really caring what was being exchanged between the three. They had power, heated water, it was a good life in a fucked up world. And that applied to the base as a whole. But this room, why was it so small? That was what Griffon wanted to know. It was the smallest room in this base he had seen yet, and that's saying something considering that means his quarters and restroom as a total had more space than this room. It resembled the F.E.A.R. Team's own little Briefing Room. The one Point Man, Miss Kwon, and Jankowski all were in before they were deployed to some apartments. Now that his mind roamed to those damn apartments... he couldn't help but think of all the things that happened in them. Armacham. Twisted fucks, a bunch of twisted fucks out there for nothing more than power and money. Pathetic. The things they did to that girl many years ago and still to this day made Griffon want to cheer her on... but how could he want that when the little devil nearly killed S.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. and God knew what else.

"Ah!" Betters exclaimed as he turned around. "Griffon! It's good to see you here, thought you'd take a nap before coming. Shall we get started?"

"Whatever you think is best, sir. It's not like I'm being deployed, am I?" Griffon asked with a shrug before taking another drink of his beer, the bottle was near empty now so he just continued until it was gone.

"Define 'deployed.'" Betters ordered quickly.

"To arrange in a position of readiness, or to move strategically or appropriately. Also known as, me getting geared up and sent upstairs to cause some hell for the world." Griffon quickly responded with a bow of his head.

Betters chuckled at the man and shook his head, "More or less, then. I was wondering if you wanted new gear, gear that would make you stronger and faster than the average human. If you do, you can even request your entire team get outfitted with it. It's highly experimental, but we're going to have to step up our game if we're wanting to keep up with Armacham and the Replicas, whatever those lab experiments are doing now."

"Sir, you and I both know that Alma Wade took over command of those toy soldiers when Fettel died." Griffon said, his face going blank.

"Right. Should you accept, your first test will be to get dropped behind enemy lines to locate and secure my second F.E.A.R. team. I'm not risking more than two men for the job. It's too dangerous out there at the mo-"

"Yet you are willing to risk a lot of men for a fuckin' SFOD-D squad that managed to get captured and _experimented_ on by Armacham. Are you saying the lives of your men are less important than that of some grunts who got caught being naughty under Armacham's nose?" Griffon grumbled.

Betters frowned, "No, that's not it. In fact, we're not saving them. I want to see what Armacham is going to do to them first. Then we strike and secure Dark Signal. We are saving my second team."

"Great, then. What is this new gear?" The Team Leader asked, not wanting to go around in circles with Betters.

Betters then ordered one of the operators to pull up schematics and a visual representation of the gear in question. Griffon examined it and was amazed. It was a pitch black suit, and the lights were red. Including the ones that shined from the helmet's eyes. The helmet itself resembled a skull.

"Beautiful, isn't she? We call her the Terror Guard Battle Suit Mark V. If it's a bit long to pronounce for your tastes, the TGB or simply Mark Five will do." Betters said with pride in his voice.

"Who is 'we?'" Griffon asked.

"Someone who has given us all we need to make this work, that's all you need to know. So, you want to try her on? It requires special tech to put it on and take it off, just so you know. You can't do it manually, only bit you can do that to is the helmet."

"Understood, sir. Let's go." Griffon said, growing impatient and quite frustrated at the lack of knowledge Betters was giving him.

"Ah, not so fast. Remember what I said. You put it on, you are going alone behind enemy lines to rescue my team."

"Fine." Griffon growled as he led the way to the door, allowing Betters to take the lead.

* * *

They had walked the corridors, eventually making it to the experimentation chamber. There, Griffon stood in a T pose and awaited the machine to get to work. He did not have to wait long. He had the under armor designed for the suit on, which was like wearing normal clothes though they were a bit tight. It was designed to be tight around the wearer anyway. It was not a normal material, in fact, it was a new material that everyone avoided the name of. Why, Griffon didn't know, but he didn't want to question it either. That would surely have taken him five years just to get a generalized answer. The machine carried the heavy pieces of armor over to the man and clamped it down. When the metal was locked into place, the machine screwed it together tightly.

The entire process took an hour of Griffon standing still whilst armor was placed onto him. The armor didn't make him look larger, in fact, it was quite form fitting. It was like it was meant for him, and it was. To finish it off, the helmet was placed on his head and the man was in darkness until the systems turned on, then he saw everything normally save for the blood red HUD. Well, that was until he cycled through the modes. Thermal, Night, Regular, Electro... this suit's vision improved his greatly. Anything he needed for any situation was there.

"Please step away from the machine." A technician said, and Griffon followed the order.

To the man, it felt light for metal. Sure, he had added weight, but it didn't feel like that much. Once the step was done, he turned on the thermal and looked at the men inside the observation room. What he saw did not amuse him in the slightest. In fact, it made his stomach twist and his hands clench up. Who was that little girl Betters was talking to? According to the thermal vision, her body was freezing.

"Alright. It's time to set you on your way, buddy. You're being dropped off at the Armacham Secondary Facility. Prepare yourself for heavy resistance, place is crawling with ATC and their Mercs as well as Replicas last we knew. My team is somewhere in the building, they haven't left it. Their last transmission came from the fifth floor. Check it out. Send me anything you find and I'll see what we can find out from the information." Betters said.

Whilst Griffon didn't like it, he had to do it. To make a move now would be foolish, and he would probably die. So, he moved to the loading area for a flight he didn't want to make. It was him against countless of foes, just to rescue three men. He had hoped this team was worthwhile, otherwise, he'd be pissed. They'd better be alive too, or else this would be a waste of his precious time.


	3. Update 1: Patience

Hello!

So for those of you who are reading this, it means that you are either a fan of my works or are here for the story you are currently reading an update on! I'm here to explain to you why I haven't updated the story. There are 3 reasons for this and let me put it in an organized, neat way.

1) It's still in production. What this means is that I've gotten about a quarter of the way through the story. Meaning, I've written all the timelining down for not even half of the story itself! Around, I'd say, Chapter 20 is where I'd run into an issue of "wow, I don't know what the next step is yet."

2) It's only to remind me. I've only really posted these few chapters to remind me to keep working on it. I've got everything set, but until I'm nice and cozy with it, I'm not going to post or write chapters. The only reason I'm not cozy with it is the fact I haven't plotted the whole thing out yet!

3) I'm a busy bee. With everything going on in my life, winter on the doorstep, I have to budget time into these investments. As I've stated in my Group of Exiles update, I've 4 stories I'm working on. Here is my plan:

Group of Exiles and my Halo story are going to be taking up most of my focus. F.E.A.R. is going to be a story I update once in a blue moon until I flesh it all out. Then it will be able to have my focus like Group of Exiles and my Halo story have right now. The final and 4th project, a Skyrim fanfiction set in the world created by the YouTuber Voicesfromthedark, is still just being worked on behind the scenes when I feel like it and have time to kill.

I hope you understand, and if you really liked where I was going with this story, please. Just favorite and follow it. That way you will be able to get an email when I post new chapters. Otherwise, just be patient and as time goes along the story will continue on until it reaches its end!

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

-Saren


	4. Chapter 3

**Prologue: Rise of the Terror Guard.**

 _Chapter 3: Childhood Nightmares_

 **AN: Hello everyone. This new chapter is just to show you guys that I am still thinking about this story, and am looking forward to writing more in the future! Like before, however, it is on the backburner. I'll post as I feel like. I will warn you that this chapter is not edited, and it may have typos and some format errors / jumbled and/or fractured plot. That being said, one day I will come back and clear it up by editing it. I just want most of my editing power to go to my other Fanfiction at the moment. I just hope it's understandable what I wanted to get done with it. I'll post at the end what I wanted done, just so you can understand the chapter a bit better if you already can't. If it seems a bit rushed, it's because it was, and like I said; I will probably revisit it sometime in the relatively-near future. See you next time!**

 _0200 Hours, one hour after Griffon put on the TGB:_

"You know pilot, the best thing about your job is tha' it's a quick one. You fly in, drop me off, leave, go home to your wife and kids if they're still alive... and act like nothing 'appened because this place is about to be World War Three when my boots hit the ground. See were I you, I'd pack up and get the fuck outta Fairport. Make sure your kid and wife are safe an' all that shite. Leave this job to the professional walking-dead-men like myself and my mates back at base." Griffon said to the pilot who had been ignoring him.

The air was thick with black smoke and the stench of death and fire. It was dangerous to even fly a helicopter out in such conditions. Then again, the true concern would be if they were in a jet. Such thick smoke would choke the ever living hell out of anything with an engine, or turbines, that suck in air. It was marvelous, such destruction on a large scale. At the same time it was terrifying, and made Griffon realize just how much bigger than himself the situation was. Soon the Pilot hovered over a specific building's entry hall, and the light by the door turned green. Before either of them knew it, the Scottish man jumped from the helicopter, down into the glass, through said glass, and landed down on the ground with such force that the cement underneath him cracked.

"One way conversations are boring anyway, you fuck." Griffon remarked before readying his assault rifle and heading into the building. "Captain Raynes and 'The Sergeant,' eh? What the hell kind of name is that? Call out the bloody Sergeant and several soldiers will probably reply..."

It was then the man took a moment to look around. He was right inside the main entrance, having crashed through the glass of the roof. Besides rubble there were bodies littering the place. Armacham Sec forces, Replicas, and what he could only assume to be Nightcrawlers. He shook his head before looking up again, then down at his target. The door to the rest of the building. In true war fashion, it was wiiiiiide open. Giant ass hole was put in it. The more he observed that, the more he assumed the doors were disintegrated since there were only a few wood chips here and there. He shook his head and began to progress, but not before kicking a dead corpse.

"I wonder if there's a cafeteria here." He muttered to himself, "I'm kind of hungry."

"Focus on the mission, Griffon." Betters grumbled through the communication's unit in the man's helmet, which he forgot to switch off since he boarded the helicopter.

Griffon almost jumped, but was too focused on his surroundings to allow such a mess up. "The fuck're you doin' here? I thought I muted your ass." The man asked as he explored the hallways of the main building. "This place is dead, Betters. Not a fuckin' soul movin' about it."

"The last of their signals came from within that building, they have to be in there." The commissioner replied.

"I hope you're right about this, Rowdy. This place is torn apart and covered in more corpses than there are in national cemeteries." The Scotsman replied as he made his way through the building.

* * *

About thirty minutes after their brief conversation, Griffon found himself on the staircase leading to the roof. He shook his head and opened the door to the highest level just under the roof level. This was... well, it was cleaner and much more intact than the other levels. Something didn't seem right about this place. Nevertheless, the man made his rounds. Searching through various rooms and the halls, and closets for the second F.E.A.R. team. It wasn't until he made it to the lounge on that floor that shit hit the fan.

"HQ, this is Griffon. Gravity didn't switch on us, did it?" He asked as he observed streams of red flowing upwards like a waterfall that denied gravity.

Corpses were, much like in the main lobby of the building, strewn about and dismembered in many ways. This time though the blood pools were leaking upwards. The radio clicked on, but rather than hear the voice of Betters he heard mind numbing static. He quickly dropped his rifle and clenched his hands upon his head. The helmet's optics were going haywire, switching between the different settings without his permission. Figures were all around him, their forms being displayed on each and every one of the settings. As was that little girl.

'The little... fuck!' Was all Griffon could think before he screamed out in agony and collapsed onto the blood soaked floor.

He felt himself get dragged across the floor, but he couldn't move. The pain was too unbearable. And that was the last his consciousness could handle. He had passed out. The physical and mental strain of what was going on was more or less like a sensory overload. All he saw now was darkness. Then... something strange happened.

* * *

Griffon found himself somewhere he hadn't been for years. An entire lifetime, or so it had felt to the man. Scotland... his old middle school. The place where he had been subjected to such cruelty... The staff hated him and the other children despised him. His father was a world renown criminal, a wife beater and child abuser. His mother was the town whore, who opened her legs to anyone that paid enough. And he? The blood flowing through his veins, the genes that made him up marked him as dirt. Worse than dirt. When he saw a large group of people walk into the classroom his younger self was in... it dawned on him. This was the day he was taken away. The day he was forced to move to America.

It was a day that had been permanently engraved into his mind. The humility and sad events that played out were only the beginning of a life of hardship. One would think that he'd be glad to have been taken away from the abusive life he had lived in its entirety, but he wasn't. The men grabbed onto his younger self and despite Griffon's best efforts the men were too powerful. Kids laughed and the teacher gave a wide smile as he was dragged from the room, but it was then time froze and fire surrounded the school. This was not how it played out. The men; members of an international crime organization had succeeded in their attempts. Griffon was sent to America, made a 'citizen', and given an entirely different persona. They did not begin to scream in agony as their flesh melted away from them into a pile of gore and ash as their clothes followed. The children were not twisted into hideous creatures, and the teacher did not dig her own eyes out as a little girl stood upon the desk and watched Griffon.

Her fiery gaze wasn't set upon the younger Griffon, who had vanished in a dark cloud of ash, but rather the adult version that was left there watching the scene right outside the classroom. The man looked back at her and sighed. She was planning something. He knew that even ghosts like her had a look in their eyes when they wanted something. Whatever it could have been, though, he could only guess at. It was then she spoke in a voice that sent chills down his spine, and made his gut twist in fear. It was soft, like a mother's... only younger. Though something about it spread fear with each word spoken.

"I know your pain." She said, "Join me."

The proposition made Griffon think hard. If he declined would he be killed in the real world? This was obviously a dream or something produced by the girl herself. How should he respond? He knew the power that the girl in front of him contained. It was the same power that had slaughtered many innocents and soldiers alike. Even the Replicas had blood spilled because of her. If he was to decline, he would probably be disposed of before he could become any sort of threat to her or her plans. Though if he accepted... how much better would that be?

If he accepted the offer he knew it would drain him of his humanity. She wasn't a human being like their other enemies. Even the clones had some form of humanity in them. She was just a paranormal entity who shrugged off death in the name of vengeance. The power she contained was unholy in nature, surely, and would corrupt any who agreed to fight alongside it. That made him even more curious. Her power corrupted. She could literally take control of anyone, just by using the attractive source of power she contained. It made anyone who allied with her feel like they were invincible. After all, there was no stopping her. No mortal could compare to her, and all they could do would be to set her plans back temporarily. But what about Rodney?

What did Betters have to gain by siding, or even conversing with this girl? He had seen her figure before at the base. She was there. Rodney was talking to her, and many others knew she was there too. Were they corrupted? Surely they were. And if that were the case, then was this just a ploy set up by them to see if Griffon and his squad would be loyal to their new commander? That pretty much answered her question right there. He wouldn't put his squad in any unnecessary risk. Therefor, he nodded his head slowly. Regretfully, but in a way that hid his true emotions and thoughts about the situation even from Alma herself. Somehow.

"Alright." Griffon replied as he cleared his throat, "But can we continue this discussion after you send me back to the real world and I complete my mission? I know you were talking to Rodney Betters. There's no sense in playing dumb."

The girl nodded, "As long as you don't let the word out to everyone, we can talk in the 'real world.' The Sergeant you are looking for will be chained beside you when you wake up. Extract him, and speak of this encounter to no one. Not even Betters. He was not talking to me, but rather someone who was standing behind me. I am only interested in you. And my child. The rest are nothing but disposable." She informed him before the man's surroundings decayed rapidly, and she vanished in a cloud of black ash.

* * *

Griffon coughed as he woke up on the hard floor of the building. Fucking tile floors always made you sore whenever you fell on them, let alone lay on them for who knows how long. How long had he been there for anyway? He heard Rodney on the comm channel. The man was hailing him frantically whilst also trying to scramble a rescue team. Not so much for Griffon as much as the armor. It seemed that when shit hit the fan, the expensive equipment was more important than an individual soldier.

"Oh, shut up ye daft bastard... I'm here... I was just... takin' a catnap." The Scot said as he looked over and saw the Sergeant he had been sent for. That was all that was left, it would seem. Damn. "HVT Spotted. Moving to secure. The others are KIA."

"Roger that, buddy. Who is still with us?" Betters asked over the com channel.

"The Sergeant. I'm going to withdraw to the rooftop. Requesting immediate evac before enemy reinforcements arrive. I have strong reason to believe Replicas are on their way to secure the building and make sure there are no survivors." Griffon requested before breaking the chains around the Sergeant's wrists and lifting him up onto his shoulders. "The HVT is unconscious. I'm going to have to carry him and protect us with a pistol. Get here ASAP, Betters, or you're losing two assets."

The man on the other side of the channel sighed, "A chopper has been dispatched. Hold position on the rooftop for as long as possible. If you need to, you are cleared to relocate to another L.Z."

Griffon didn't respond this time. No, he just took off. His suit was covered in blood, and just as he broke through a door he saw a Replica patrol. Shit. That had been way too fast. How did they mobilize so quickly? Ah. This must have been the remnants of the actual battle that had taken place there. They didn't attack him, however, they just continued on their patrol. One of them alerted their commander to Griffon's movements, but the Scot didn't wait around to see anything more. He rushed to get to the rooftop. The rest of the op went smoothly, and the Sergeant? The Sergeant was successfully evacuated from the area.

 _ **As promised, the goal of this chapter was to get the Sergeant secured and ready for future chapters whilst also creating a relationship between Griffon, Alma, Rodney, and a few other characters. Not in that order, either. For instance, Rodney and Griffon's relationship may have been formed, or Rodney and Alma's, etc. It's just setting the stones for the future chapters. Hope you enjoyed!**_


	5. Chapter 4

**Prologue: Rise of the Terror Guard**

 _Chapter 4: Operation Restoration_

 **This chapter simply contains strong themes, whilst not in too much detail, it can still be recognized as dark. If you have a problem with such things. Other than that, have fun reading the new installment. :)**

* * *

 _1300 hours, One Day after Griffon put on the MK V. Armor_

The Point Man stood there with his hands behind his back, staring down at the table where a map of the city had been laid out for all to see. Betters was calling the shots on all of the operations taking place within Fairport. Right now he was setting up the briefing, and everyone that could be considered special forces was standing at the table. They were going to be given a mission of high importance, one that had no room for error. Soon Betters himself entered the room and made his way around the room passing folders to everyone. The Point Man immediately went and opened his, seeing the contents of the briefing laid out in front of his very eyes.

"Now, I know it's been a busy week for all of us. It's a little bit ridiculous to say that we need a break, as we could use a vacation from this. But we need to keep active, and move as if this was a warzone. Well, it **is** a warzone if you can't tell. The entire city is wrecked, and soon it'll be interstate. Not too long after that it will be international. We **cannot** allow that to happen. The backlash for the United States allowing such a thing to happen would be tremendous, and we would be looking at a lot of political warfare if not open warfare itself." Betters started with a soft sigh at the end, "We've intel that an SFOD-D squad code named Dark Signal has recently been diverted to Valkyrie Tower. After the explosion of the Origin facility they have been relocated to Auburn Memorial. You can all see where this is going."

"We're huntin' down Delta now, are we? You'd think we'd have better things to do, y'know, like our damned jobs. Alma Wade is out there running rampant throughout the city with little to no one to stop her." Griffon replied with a huff.

Betters continued, "And that is why, Griffon, we're deploying straight to Auburn Memorial as soon as possible. Armacham is doing something there with our Delta friends. Now, I can't say what is going on, but Armacham has been directly linked to Origin. We need to extract those boys before Armacham makes life a helluva lot more difficult for us. After we get them out of there, we'll be able to set our sights on something else. Something a bit more worthy of our time. Like containing Alma Wade."

Jin let out a rather demoralized laugh, "You don't contain Alma, sir. It just isn't something we can do. Anyone can do. There's little we **can** do about her, other than make sure she gets her revenge."

"Aye, it isn't like we can burn her corpse and hope that way of getting rid of spirits works. Chick's dead, and her body is vaporized already by that explosion. Only thing we can do is hope that her getting revenge puts her to rest. Otherwise? Otherwise we're fucked an' the world isn't too far behind." Griffon added on to Jin's concerns before shrugging, "Regardless, continue on with the plan. We need to get shit on the road before something else happens that isn't supposed to. Like maybe this little bunker of ours blows up."

Betters nodded, "The current plan I've come up with is simple. We split into two groups, S.E.A.R. will operate on the outside of the hospital whilst group F.E.A.R. pushes inside and searches for Dark Signal. The reason we're splitting into outside and inside groups is that there is a chance they'll be split up in there... A few could already be outside of the place for all we know. The inside group will hit likely areas where a squad member may be, and if they aren't there you will branch out and search the entire place. The outside group will do the same, though will be on constant patrol around a perimeter.

"Replica Forces are strong in the area, and word is ATC forces have begun to swarm the hospital. Let's not talk about Valkyrie Tower. ATC has that place locked down tighter than the German's had Auschwitz back in the big WW-2. No one is allowed to leave that place once they go there. They get reinforcements whenever they need them, and are resupplied on a bi-weekly basis. Given some time we will set our sights there, but for now we're going to have to worry about the hospital.

"Auburn Memorial is a rather easy job for us. The Replicas are the major threat on the outside, and on the inside the only real threat is ATC. They're easily disposed of, though, as our intel suggests that they have nothing major in terms of armament in there. Maybe a few squads of Black Ops are in there, including their pyros to more or less prevent any information leaks."

Griffon chuckled, " 'Easy' and 'Black Ops' don't mix well together, sir. If we're going to be hitting the hospital we better expect the worst. If Armacham is there, so are the Replicas and that demon." He stated as he glanced over at the corner where he had saw the figure of a young girl watching them.

She seemed rather amused by his statement. His accusation of her being a demon. In reality she could be seen as something much, much worse than that. A demon had a leash; something holding it back from wreaking havoc on a global scale. That girl, on the other hand? She had nothing holding her back any longer. She could do as she pleased... especially with the army of clones in her grasp. Armacham had done something extremely foolish, whether it be intentional, or otherwise. The little psychic commander business wasn't exactly the brightest idea when considering they had a very powerful entity who had the same abilities as their commanders, only much stronger, who just so happened to hate them and everything they stood for.

"Good point." Rodney said with a shrug, "Alright. So prepare for a lot of fighting. It may get hairy down there, but I know all of you are competent enough to make it work. I don't want anyone lost on this mission. We're not getting any help from the Government. At least, not for awhile. They've set up a quarantine zone, making sure this incident doesn't break out and go national, let alone international."

"They won't contain us for long..." Griffon heard Alma whisper softly, and upon glancing over to her previous location he noted her absence. "Find him... Becket... And prepare..."

The man looked around to see if anyone else was hearing that, but the only one who seemed to be keyed in on the situation was Point Man. He was glaring over at Griffon, and the Scot swallowed harshly before looking over at Rodney to listen to the briefing wrap-up. It wasn't much, just Rodney running through the exact mission objectives, as well as the layout one more time. Griffon and his group were to be on the outside providing a perimeter, whilst F.E.A.R. operatives and a few potential recruits for F.E.A.R. would be inside. It almost made Griffon chuckle, thinking about how F.E.A.R. would be doing something they usually did. Gather information and clean out the place. Alas, the man kept it composure and simply walked away once dismissed.

He couldn't help but wonder what Alma had meant. He was to find one of the Delta Squad members they were already tasked with finding, and prepare. Prepare for what? There already was a nuke released in the city. The entire state of the city had been quickly deteriorating with each passing moment. There was nothing to prepare for! At least, nothing that they hadn't already done. Having found out everything about Alma though, he couldn't help but want to follow her orders. The woman needed revenge. He supported that fact more than anyone else ever would. The only difference is how he'd go about it. Slaughtering everything between her and them was not the way. Hell, she almost killed her own son multiple times. Wasn't that the main reason for all of this bullshit?

* * *

 _2000 Hours, Perspective: S.E.A.R. Team_

"Command, this is Hornet, S.E.A.R. is inbound to the drop point," Hornet notified the officers back at base, "Replica forces have begun to amass around the target destination. Dangerous LZ. Over."

"Roger that, Hornet, stay safe out there and RTB for refueling. You'll not be providing air support today. Command out." The operator replied with his thick southern accent.

"Wasp, this is Hornet, what's your status? Over." Griffon heard the Pilot ask as he and his men stood in perfect silence, preparing for the deployment. He had the advantage with the gear he was wearing. They were still wearing their basic equipment. Susceptible to more damage than he was.

The radio kicked on with harsh feedback, the sounds of the miniguns on the helicopter going off as the men of F.E.A.R. disembarked. "Hornet, this is Wasp. We've landed on the hospital's roof to be met with heavy ATC resistance. We're clearing them out, though. We're going to need some repairs after our RTB, though, over."

"Copy that. Drop them and run, they'll handle the rest." Hornet replied, "Meet you back at home, Hornet out. Alright boys, we're dropping Griffon off first to make absolutely sure everything on the ground is calm so we can land. You'll disembark, and then you're going to be alone for awhile. Command doesn't want too much radio chatter in case they get traced. Anything you need, you'll relay unto me. I'll tell them. You know our nest is a ways away from HQ."

"Understood, pilot. Just be on call, we may need a speedy extraction." Griffon replied with a huff.

The Pilot chuckled, "Indeed. You've got a green light, Griffon."

The man didn't say another word, and hopped out of the helicopter. It was a fall that would have killed anyone. At least, anyone not in a heavily powered suit of armor that promoted exceptional resistance to most things, as well as amazing agility. He slammed into the road below, cracking it and even breaking two boot-sized holes in it. He stepped up from his current location and looked around. He switched through his various sights and saw nothing. Well, save for the little girl pointing down the road.

"You must find him..." She whispered.

"This is Griffon, you're clear Hornet. There's nothing down here but debris from the explosion." The man informed his pilot before readying his rifle.

It didn't take too long for the helicopter to drop the rest of S.E.A.R. off and fly away. There wasn't any real resistance in the air right now. Everything was grounded due to the still-falling debris. The fact Hornet and Wasp were able to fly at all was a true wonder, though in reality it was due to their modified blades and engines. They were designed to weather through things most helicopters would choke upon.

"Alright, S.E.A.R. Time to go on patrol." Griffon said as he started walking, "I'll be in front. I want Corporal Megan to be in the middle. The rest of you form a defensive position around her."

"Roger that, sir!" Roddy, Griffon's second in command, stated in acknowledgement as he and the other members of S.E.A.R. fell into place.

"Command, this is S.E.A.R. We've landed, and are starting our patrol now. How copy?" Griffon hailed to Command.

"S.E.A.R., this is Command. We acknowledge that you've landed, and are beginning your patrol. Keep comms from here on out clear unless absolutely. Out." The man replied.

The man chuckled as he looked around the hellish landscape. "Alright lads, let's make this a good run. Nothing too stressful. When we get back I'll buy you all a beer."

"Buy us one? Hell, I doubt Betters will let us get any." Roddy stated with a chuckle.

"Aye. Cut the chatter now." Griffon ordered.

* * *

 _2010 Hours Perspective: F.E.A.R. Team_

The Point Man knew exactly what he was doing. The fact that he had an entire team with him was just something that could be pushed aside as precautionary on Betters' part. The only good thing about the team was Jin was officially on it this time. He'd be working along side her, not alone and separated from perhaps the best medic he had ever known. The man was a soldier through and through, that meant he had seen a **lot** of medics in his time. Usually after long engagements.

However, the firm resistance they had encountered on the rooftop was something that even halted the man's progress. He had cleaved through an entire battalion of Replicas, more or less, and came out with relatively no wounds. That went to show how good ATC's Black Ops units were. Unfortunately, they weren't the best. No, the best would have to be the Point Man and the two Encounter teams. Why? Well...

The Point Man hopped up from cover, his reflexes kicking in as the adrenaline flowed throughout his body. Everything slowed, and the man could easily maneuver around the bullets that were shot at him. To the others, he was moving insanely fast. Fast enough that a normal person would never be able to achieve such a feat. Before the remaining four Black Ops soldiers knew it, they were shot down by the man and the corpse closest to the door got kicked through it. The strength of the kick was enough to break his body as it, along with the reinforced metal door that just got torn from its hinges, fell inside.

He kept his rifle pointed at the doorway, and made a hand signal to tell the rest of his team to move in behind him. He was the Point Man, after all. They made their way down the steps, having a rough idea of where they should begin their search. Dark Signal was reported to be around the main and below-main floors. That narrowed their search down, and Point Man was rather glad as Auburn Memorial was a rather decently sized hospital. It would take them hours to search every nook and cranny there was. But with the levels they needed to search being confirmed by intelligence, this limited their search time down to an hour, maybe three at most.

There wasn't much interference within the stairwell itself, as ATC had better things to be doing within the hospital. There was plenty of projects that needed to be disposed of, especially with Dark Signal being within the hospital. If they discovered half of the things that ATC had been doing, they'd be obligated to take it to their superiors. That was something no one within Armacham wanted, since it would bring the wrath of the world down upon them. Such things weren't good for business, nor its people's survival.

They had finally reached the main floor, and that was when Point Man stopped the team. Jin knew what he would say, and since she was appointed as the Team Leader, she was the one who issued the orders to the team. It was just better that way, especially since the Point Man didn't like to speak to anyone, let alone an entire squad. The woman lowered her rifle and looked at the members of the team, thinking about how best to go about it. She had a Point Man, along with four other operatives; potential F.E.A.R. recruits.

"Alright, Thomas, Gregory, you're coming with me. Gregory will take point. We're making sure this floor is secure. Michelle, Logan, you're going with the Point Man to make sure the lower level is secure. We'll meet each other on the third floor down. Understood?" Jin ordered the men.

"Yes, ma'am!" Michelle, the team's potential tech expert, stated in acknowledgement.

"We're on you." Thomas, the team's support specialist replied as they all formed up behind their respective leaders.

"It's not exactly a standard F.E.A.R. operation. It's usually better to all be together, but we need to get this hospital secured before they burn the place down. That requires us to split up. Michelle, I want you to maintain constant radio contact with me. If we're to do this effectively we're going to need to know what happens, no matter how minor, each second it happens. The only time radio silence is permitted is when you are engaging an enemy, or if Command decides to contact us." Jin informed the woman with a huff, "Come on. Let's get going boys." She said before opening the door, Thomas taking the lead.

When Michelle and Logan looked at where the Point Man had been, they discovered that he was missing. There was only one place he would have gone, and so they started to descend the stairs as well. They were somewhat worried about the operation. It didn't seem like it would be normal at all, especially since the lobby had several bodies gored and strewn across the floor and walls. This looked liked it would be something out of a nightmare...

When they reached the next level down they saw the Point Man waiting for them. He didn't speak, but as soon as they were there behind him he moved into the hallway. It was dark down here, as there was no light shining in from anywhere outside. They were surrounded by dirt and reinforced cement, if not steel. The only lights that penetrated the hallways were from the broken, shattered, and stained light bulbs. Such poor lighting left many portions of hallway to be darkened, with the only light visible being that of the patch further down the hall. It was something that was repeated a lot during these encounters.

"You know, haven't we tried contacting them through their communications?" Logan asked as he looked around the hallway, the only one maintaining proper protocol being the Point Man.

Michelle shook her head, "From what I understood... we couldn't until we got close enough. And I guess Betters didn't want to bring the equipment to patch into military signals so close to danger."

"But we **are** the military... That shouldn't be a problem." The twenty-one year old man grumbled.

"Just keep moving... we should be quiet lest we alert people to our presence." Michelle said in a hushed voice as they pressed on through the hallways.

The Point Man easily blocked the two of them out of his head. They weren't saying anything important to the mission, and if he were obligated to speak he would have shut them both up. No, that would have broken protocol. Something he wouldn't do unless the situation absolutely demanded it. Instead, he kept on moving silently, checking any corners he found and making sure he knew the darkness was secure. This floor was much worse than the lobby. The stairwell had been blocked half-assedly, but this? Entire hallways were cut off by either rubble from the building, or rubbish put together by scared staff and perhaps soldiers trying to be smart and funnel people directly to them.

The choking smell of smoke mixed with blood also filled the place. Sure enough, after some time they passed multiple rooms filled with fire. Flames started by the corpses of ATC operatives that littered the area. The two following him flinched in disgust, but the Pint Man kept on pushing on. There was no time for such things. Now it was a matter of following the corpses, of which there was a lot... but a trail could be seen by the perceptive. Or those who killed an entire battalion of Replicas. Give or take.

It wasn't long at all until they reached the morgue. Blood everywhere, the containers that held the bodies wide open... The Point Man didn't see any hostiles and merely looked at an elevator where two sets of footprints led. A man's, particularly a man who wore boots... And a little girl's footprints.

"Hey, guys." They heard Jin hail over their communication devices.

"We read you loud and clear, ma'am. What is it?" Logan asked as he looked around the place, his voice distorted slightly by his disgust.

It was a moment before they heard the woman answer, "We've patched into the security cameras. We caught ATC before they could take them out. We see you right now. I had Thomas rewind the footage by twenty minutes. Our guy went up to the Third Floor."

"The Third Floor? More walking?" The man groaned before keying his headset, "Understood. Orders?"

"You're going to have to get up there, if you want to complete the mission. The feed's been cut up there. All I can see is the entry way to the bathroom, which allowed me to see our guy is active up there. Get moving before it's too late. We've heard from S.E.A.R. They're taking heavy fire from ATC and Replica forces. They've hunkered down in a convenient store a few blocks down from here. And by heavy fire, I mean **heavy** ," The woman replied before sighing, "Get there. We'll be looking for a way out."

"Affirmative. Moving to the Third Floor. Is the elevator intact?" Logan asked as Point Man pressed the button.

"It should be. Just be careful... and stay alert. We'll watch your ascension to make sure you don't get your rope cut off." Jin informed them.

"I don't think that is possible..." Michelle said softly as she shook her head, "It's too thick."

Jin chuckled lightly, "You don't know what we deal with daily, then. Good luck."

Logan looked over at the Point Man and sighed, "Well, she's reassuring..."

Michelle nodded slowly, "When we reach the top floor, we should be prepared for anything that Armacham throws at us. What are the chances the Replicas have breached the facility?" She asked Logan.

The man thought about her question for a moment before shrugging, he hadn't a single clue. He had been deployed against Replicas before, but it wasn't a matter of experience or not. Technically speaking, the Replicas shouldn't even be a concern with Paxton Fettel having been killed. But they were, and it troubled him. That meant there was another Psychic Commander in the playing field.

The elevator came crashing to a stop, causing both Michelle and Logan to fall against the walls of the elevator. Michelle barely kept herself standing, whilst Logan slammed his head against the wall and fell down so he was sitting down with his back pressed against the wall. The man groaned, gently rubbing his head and praying his thanks to God for his helmet. The Point Man remained completely still, and sighed as he realized the elevator door was closed. He looked up at the service hatch and got to work.

This gave the two soldiers time to recover from their rather traumatic experience. When an elevator came to a stop, it came to a stop. The breaks had been engaged too quickly, almost instantly to cause such chaos. Logan slowly managed to stand up, and at that time the Point Man had already opened the elevator hatch. Bodies were falling down the elevator shaft towards them, being dumped from somewhere further up. The Point Man ignored them as he got to work prying the door open. It looked like they were on the Second Floor...

Logan gasped as one of the bodies landed straight in the elevator with them. Michelle had her back towards the middle of the elevator, so all she heard was the sickening clunk and splat that was inevitable of a body landing from a high fall. Logan looked down at himself, now covered in spots of blood everywhere but his legs, which had taken a true splash. The body was that of a young man, no older than the age of thirty. He had been cut in two, with various viscera trailing out of his body. His spine was seen very clearly, and the blood that poured out was insane. Logan had never seen such a thing, and it made him want to be sick. Unfortunately for him, he wanted to be a part of F.E.A.R. more than he wanted to relieve his stomach of its stress. This is why Jin told him not to eat that burger before they were deployed...

"Come on, Michelle. I'll boost you up there, and then you can help me get up. I don't like being trapped in this metal death box." Logan said softly as he used his foot to slide the bloodied corpse away from the middle of the elevator compartment.

The woman nodded and walked over to him as the man readied to boost her up, cupping his right hand with his left to provide better support. He nodded to tell her that he was ready, and she rushed up to him, placing her foot in his hands and with his help she jumped up onto the top of the elevator. She saw the bodies and sighed lightly before turning around and offering the man his hand. He quickly took it, and with the Point Man's help, they pulled the man up and he closed the elevator hatch.

The Point Man had finally pried the elevator shaft door open and hopped up. There was only a small step between the roof of the elevator, and the floor of the second level of the hospital. Soon the three of them were together on solid ground. Michelle sighed as she saw the floor level, and Logan tilted his head. He didn't understand why she was so disgusted of the floor they were on, and even the Point Man had a disgusted looking expression on his face.

"W-What's wrong?" He asked quietly as he looked around.

"Maternity Ward..." Michelle replied softly, "Didn't you read the layout?"

The man slowly shook his head, adopting the expression of his two teammates. "Negative... I was forced to do drills by some higher ups. I didn't have too much time to read every single detail, so I quickly read past everything that didn't seem important."

"Let's get moving. The less amount of time we spend in this place, the better. I don't want to know what we may find in here..." The young woman said softly before the trio set out down the hall, the Point Man taking the lead.

Already the horrors of the ward were evident. The corpses of nurses and doctors alike littered the ground. It was a damned massacre. The worst part of it was imagining what the rest of it looked like. If this is what happened to the caretakers of the facility by Armacham... what did they do to the patients? If not Armacham... what did **she** do to them? Logan had some very bad feelings about where they were. As did the Point Man. He may have been a super soldier, but he wasn't immune to the traumatic effects that such sights may impose upon normal humans. He wasn't completely heartless like many would think. Harlan and his scientists didn't get that far with him. They only made him have an issue with talking, a complex that made him feel like he would get tortured if he spoke a single word. Having witnessed the man's death back in the facility, however... he felt a breath of relief. Like he was able to talk to whomever, and whatever he wanted. Maybe he could confront Alma the next time they met. He knew there would be a next time. After all, she was his mother. Why would she just let him go so willingly? **Especially** after everything she put him through.

As they progressed through the hall the lights that were doing a very poor job at this point cut out. They were plunged into darkness, and this set the three on high alert. It could have been an ambush by Armacham, or by the entity stalking these halls looking for one man. They didn't know her intent, but they knew she was here. They had seen the video feeds, they had the intelligence from Armacham. Alma Wade was within the building. There was no doubt about it. Logan moved his assault rifle back and forth, worrying about what may have been stalking the halls in the dark alongside them.

" _I know who you are..._ " They heard a voice say as deafening static filled their ears. " _Help me get my revenge... help me find him..._ "

"Who are you?" Michelle called out, but she didn't receive an answer. All they received was the lights turning back on, and a silhouette of a little girl of ash fell to the ground into a pile.

Where the other two felt weirded out, scared about what they had just encountered, the Point Man didn't mind it too much and pressed on. He wasn't going to halt until they reached Becket. That was their mission. That was what they were going to accomplish. They wouldn't help Alma out in any way by getting Becket for her. That was dangerous, as she obviously wanted the man for some reason, and knowing her it was a very bad reason. Something that would threaten the safety of not only the nation, but likely the world. Though he didn't know that little fact. He didn't know his mother's plans. She could be cooking anything up in that rage-filled mind of hers, that she didn't allow anyone to delve into. Not even Paxton Fettel, whom she had betrayed in the very end. Only using the cannibal as a means to set her free, completely free so that she may reign supreme over the Replicas and the people of Fairport. At least... she hadn't allowed anyone to search within her thoughts and plans up to this point. She still hadn't released any information about her plans... But the time where she became transparent to some was nearing the present. All she had to do was plant the seeds for everyone to fall under her rule. She **needed** Becket. The man would prove to be a lot more than just a mere pawn like her son, or a warrior like the entirety of S.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. No... even most of them proved to be more valuable than mere warriors. They would be up there with her and Becket. They would help her and the man lead the armies she planned to forge. United, all of them would achieve righteous justice and vengeance upon the world. Alma was going to make Armacham pay for all those they had wronged, and then... And then the world would suffer for its crimes. But that was a mere fantasy in a deceased psychic's mind.

"Fuck!" Michelle groaned as she quickly averted her eyes from the right side of the hall, "No!"

The Point Man looked over and growled, cursing in his mind as he saw what had caught the woman off guard. To say it was enough to traumatize even the Point Man himself would be an understatement. Immediately he pushed the other two forward, not wanting them to see it. Michelle had already caught a good glimpse, and Logan did as well in passing. What they all saw sickened them to their very core. It was a hospital. They were in a maternity ward. What kind of monster could do such things to creatures that couldn't speak nor have any form of information contained within their little minds? They were slaughtered, all them in ways that made a bullet look merciful. The Point Man knew it wasn't Alma's work, though the others weren't so sure in their minds. Knife and scorch wounds were covering the bodies of the infants as they lay in their incubators. Blood soaking everything in the room, along with scorch marks on the walls and a still-burning fire in the corner of the room. What no one knew was the true purpose of this hospital. It was a staging ground, a testing ground... those children were far from any normal child they could expect. Regardless of that fact, it didn't sit well with either of the three.

Despite having seen what they did, they continued down the halls which twisted and turned with each new path leading to either form a circle to the way they had come from, or to a new area of the second floor. Regardless, they had awhile to go yet before they were on the third floor, which was where they needed to be. Regardless of what they had seen, they kept pushing on, albeit by the Point Man's own will by pushing them forward, effectively taking up the rear rather than the point. It didn't matter at this point, he needed to keep them moving and the only way that was going to happen was if he kept them moving. He had seen a lot worse things in his time, though such a thing was never easy to see. Especially for someone like him, who could sympathize with the deceased. Armacham was brutal, they were violent and often didn't care about the feelings of anyone. His training regiment was rough, and escalated to the point where it was a fight to the death. He had slaughtered countless men in the pit Harlan had made for him. His brother Fettel... He didn't know what atrocities they put him through. Fettel was always a lot more like their mother rather than the Point Man himself. The Point Man was a warrior, someone that Alma could have chosen to connect to more than usually, but refrained from doing so. Perhaps that was because she didn't want to use the Point Man like she seemed to have used Fettel? She didn't care that the man was dead. Didn't care about the bullet put into his head.

Otherwise, the Point Man more than likely wouldn't be alive right now. Regardless, he could see the emotional impact the sight was taking on the two. It wasn't good to keep it that way without addressing it. Especially since they were deployed and in his care. If he wanted two useful comrades he'd have to do something they'd listen to, and respect. They were only but a few feet away from the entrance to the staircase leading up to the next level when the two quit out on him. They just stopped, dead to the world. The images from what they had seen were burnt into the minds, more than likely permanently. They weren't like the Point Man. They didn't have the ability to push such things aside. They were people trying to make it through a warzone, and he was inclined to help them. If they wanted to see their careers in F.E.A.R. through to the end... they would have to get used to worse images than that being planted in their minds.

"They... T-They..." Michelle gasped before shaking her head, "Who the fuck could do something like this?!"

"Armacham is fucked up... If **this** is what these people do to the young, what the fuck are they going to do to the rest of the world?!" Logan asked before the Point Man grabbed them both by their shoulders and pushed them over to the wall.

The man looked between the two who were still pale and had expressions of confusion and disgust plastered on their faces. "We need to find Sergeant Becket before Armacham does. We need to secure him. Forget your personal thoughts and feelings, and focus on the mission. If we do not succeed here, Becket will die a painful death, and this will more than likely escalate to eventually having each child in the world end up like this, or worse. They are gone. Focus on making their murderers pay, and keep your mouths shut, and your eyes scanning. The staircase is up ahead. We have almost accomplished the miss-" The Point Man began to say before a loud explosion cut him off, sending him flying back down the hallway a few feet.

* * *

 _Fifteen Minutes Earlier, Perspective: S.E.A.R. Team_

"Roddy! Drop your fucking cock and get on the line! I need to fuckin' reload!" Ajax shouted over to the man behind the checkout counter of the gas station they were dug in at as he rushed over to take Roddy's place.

The man had run from his position at the counter and down at one of the craters a grenade left in the flooring, where Griffon and Michelle were at. Luckily the worn down building provided the Replicas and ATC Troops to only attack them from one position, well, at least until they breached the other walls. The gas pumps outside had long since been exploded, leaving fire and craters all over the parking lot, and a fuck-ton of rubble covering the ground. The pillars of smoke that were rising into the air were thick, and one could almost expect such a thing to kill off everyone if the 'nuke' didn't do the trick. That wasn't the case though, and it had no impact on the fight other than creating a tough obstacle for the enemies to get over. The sounds of guns firing filled the air, so much so that one could hardly hear their comrades shouting. Roddy readied himself beside his leader and started firing on targets designated by the man.

They had been at this for about an hour now, and there hadn't been any sign of SFOD-D personnel anywhere near them. Their patrol had ended half-way through, and now it was turning into a survival mission more than anything. The Replicas seemed less interested in them than the ATC grunts, though, which was worth noting as the clones seemed to actually be helping them somewhat. It was odd, but regardless they fired on both sides as they couldn't trust either of them. Corpses lined the streets, and one of their newest recruits had been killed on the way to the gas station. The poor young man couldn't handle being fired upon, apparently, and sacrificed himself for no reason other than to take an easy way out. He took fifteen or so of the fuckers with him, though, as he went out with a bang quite literally...

"Sir! At this rate we're going to run out of ammo!" Roddy shouted as he looked over at Griffon, "What's the plan?!"

"You think I have a plan?! My plan is to make sure all of our asses survive this mess! I already lost one man, I'm not losing any more!" Griffon replied loudly as he aimed dow his sights and took a shot.

He was in his suit of armor, and had more resistance than most. That did not mean he was invincible. Such a thing meant he was taking cover as much as everyone else, but using the advanced options his suit gave him to their advantage. It had proven itself useful, especially in this firefight where visuals were shit to say the least. It was then he heard a voice which made him look behind himself briefly.

" _They know who you are. Quit killing them, and allow them to help you..._ " He heard the girl say, even though she was nowhere to be found. The man groaned at her cryptic words before turning back and firing at the ATC soldiers specifically, who were stuck in their advance. They weren't soldiers really, but more like mercenaries. Guns for hire. About the only thing ATC could actually throw at the world other than their Black Ops teams.

"Shoot for ATC only! The Replicas aren't our enemies during this fight!" He called out to his team, and they listened, albeit with some hesitation.

None of them liked the idea of fighting alongside the Replicas. They were controlled by some commander they didn't know. Well, they all had their hunches and ideas. Alma Wade was set free from the facility she had been kept in for years. What other person could take control of the armies of Replicas Armacham had been manufacturing like they were nothing. Regardless of their ideas, they didn't dare disobey their Team Leader. They didn't want to piss Griffon off. As soon as their fire on the Replicas had ceased, they noticed that they were changing their targets to the ATC. It seemed that someone was right about one thing, and that was the simple fact that the Replicas had a new master. Such teamwork between S.E.A.R. and the Replicas caused the ATC Mercs to back off, along with any actual personnel accompanying them. They didn't stand a chance between the two.

The gunfire didn't cease, though it grew much more distant than it had been. The war-torn convenient store was being used as a regroup and recovery station for the S.E.A.R. team whilst four Replicas walked over to Griffon, who had been looking around and on guard with Roddy and Michelle. The Replicas were simple Troopers, though they held important information for the Scotsman.

"Sir, we've been ordered to inform you of Sergeant Becket's whereabouts." The Trooper stated, "He's leaving the hospital and is making his way straight down a warzone. Our men there have strict orders to kill any on sight, and they aren't going to get revoked. You will have to take control of the situation, as your team in the building has been fed false information."

"What?" Griffon asked as he looked down at where the Replica's eyes would have been. "Where the hell are they? Why were they fed false information?"

The Replica nodded, "We understand your concern, and inquiry. Your team has been compromised. Armacham Personnel have infiltrated and joined the F.E.A.R. team led by Rodney Betters, at the man's request."

"Bullshit, Betters would never do something that retarded." Roddy grumbled before all of the Replicas and Griffon looked over at him, the latter looking back at the Replicas and speaking. "How do we know what you are saying is true?"

One of the Replicas passed a file over towards the lead in the group, who handed it directly to Griffon. "We've secured these files during our assault on the Valkyrie Tower." The clone explained, "That file contains all you need to know. Genevieve Aristide ordered it to be so. That is all we can do to help you out, anyway. We've secured no further intelligence."

Griffon opened up the file and immediately was surprised by what he saw. If he hadn't had his helmet on they would all have seen his jaw drop. "We need to get to the F.E.A.R. team if this is true. They're in danger."

"We can offer several different means of transportation. We've helicopters in the area that can escort you, power armor units ready to assist, anything you need we've the orders to give." The Replica replied before hearing his radio click on.

"Charlie Six, report in." The voice of Replica Command stated.

"Charlie Six, reporting." The Replica said as he continued to stare at Griffon.

Replica Command once again chimed in with a monotone, "We've detected Armacham reinforcements on their way from facilities outside of the city. Prepare for a fight, and get your men into position."

"Yes sir." The Replica said before motioning for Griffon, "Follow us. We need to get you to that helicopter immediately before reinforcements pour in around the area. They're trying to break our offensive, and burn a path to Still Island."

"Come on S.E.A.R.! We are leaving!" The Scotsman called out before following the Replica, "What do you mean? What's at Still Island?"

The Replica shook his head, "Another ATC Facility within Fairport. As we speak, most of our forces have been deployed there to act as a defensive barrier against Armacham, shooting down anything that is not one of us, or cleared by Command."

Griffon sighed, "You can't give me anymore than tha'?" He asked.

"Negative. It is not our duty to know. Our job is to find, retrieve, and secure Sergeant Michael Becket for immediate transport back to Still Island before Armacham does the same." Six stated with a tone of voice and pace that made him very brief.

"Then why are we supposed to get Becket? It doesn't make a lick of sense, trooper." Griffon groaned as he looked around at the corpses and smoke.

The Replica simply shrugged as they reached a relatively clear patch of the road, "Thinks aren't supposed to make sense in combat. You're just here with a mission, and are expected to get it done. We're here to do the same thing as you, so I would suggest we work together and get moving. The Replicas you meet on your way to find Sergeant Becket will not be friendly, as I've stated before, so you will have to shoot them without hesitation. They only recognize Command, and one other as friendly, though that one other does not know that, and so they're forced to fight back."

"Becket." Griffon replied grimly as they saw the helicopter. "Alright. Well, I wish you guys luck in keeping Armacham back. I'm going to secure Becket and bring him back to our base now."

"Negative, you are to retrieve him and bring him to Still Island." The Replica stated matter-of-factly before looking around, "Farewell, S.E.A.R. Leader Griffon." The clone said before rushing off with his men following as the helicopter came to a landing.

The Scotsman shook his head, "Right..." He muttered rather dismissively before watching the helicopter finally land.

"Sir! Are we really going to trust these guys?! We've been fighting them for quite awhile now! I don't think they can be trusted!" Roddy asked over the loud noise that was the propellers of the helicopter.

"Negative! Trust has nothing to do with it, Roddy! But our choices are rather limited at the moment! We've got an army of bad guys, plus some ghost bitch huntin' us down! It's not like we can take them all on, even with this damned armor I'm wearin' at the bloody moment! Now let's get movin', I don' wanna be here by the time those fuckin' reinforcements arrive, an' we've a damned long night ahead of us if we want to get to Becket before those clones do!" Griffon grumbled as he and the rest of S.E.A.R. walked up to the Replica helicopter and boarded it.

* * *

 _3 minutes since the explosion at the Hospital, Perspective: Unknown_

An Andra FD-99 Submachine Gun, 50 rounds per mag and a nice choice between burst fire and fully automatic. It suited every possible moment I could see myself getting into. Just in case it didn't fit the bill of every situation, I had my trusty ACM46 pistol to back the both of us up. 18 rounds per mag, semi-auto... and a fuck ton of adrenaline-induced reflexes within myself, and you had a deadly trio of military hardware. I wasn't good by any means, especially when it came to combat, but I knew my shit thanks to those in my past life before all of this bullshit went down. I readied my weapons, making sure they were all easily accessible before continuing on. That damned hospital was getting to me, especially after regrouping with some of my squad-mates to realize they were dead. Fucking slaughtered, and all for what?

The air within the building was choked with death, and smoke. It was burning to the ground, and within days all that would be left is the non-flammable parts of the structure. Everything within it would be seared to char and ash. Not to mention I felt like something was stalking my every move within its walls. Regardless of what I felt, and how sore I was from whatever the fuck it was that Armacham did to me, I knew I had only one choice and so I pushed forward.

Armacham. Fucking assholes. From what I saw, it seemed like they were fighting each other, and that never was a good thing for an organization to do. These soldiers I was fighting, mercenaries, they wanted Aristide, and were performing some form of operation to burn each piece of intel from the place. At the time, I didn't really know too much about why they were doing what they were... but I was making sure to stop that as best as I could. Those datapads... downloaded to my HUD.

My only chance to get out of this place was to move down, or to surrender and leave in a body bag of course. I had been tracked down by a few Replica clones... I think that's what they call them. They were tough to lose, but I managed to escape by pulling off a stunt I didn't think I'd actually land. Jumping out of a window and into another one was something ripped straight out of the movies. They probably wouldn't be fooled for too long, and so I had to move. The only problem with that was the small fact I had no way down. The staircases were covered in rubble, or something cleverly placed there by those trying to keep the mercenaries out. I said clever, not effective. My only way was to get back to the elevators, and that meant risking more confrontations from any forces I didn't burn through on my way to my previous location.

I knew something felt off about this operation. I never had a false feeling within my gut, especially when it had to do with things like this. We were sent in to secure Aristide, and as a result most of my squad is dead save for Stokes, and probably Morales. Thank God he wasn't with us when we stormed the fucking tower. Thank any God that was out there for that... and for Stokes. I was having a hard enough time coping with the loss of everyone else, I didn't want to imagine what I'd do without Keira or Manuel. They were my family, as I had no actual family to call my own. That was probably a blessing, as much as it was a curse.

"Freeze!" I heard someone shout out in a commanding tone, though it didn't really make me worried. "Sergeant Becket, you're coming with us!"

I slowly turned my head to glance back at whomever was commanding me, immediately feeling my heart begin to beat within my chest. I was a weapon. A weapon revamped by whatever the hell those surgeons did to me. And they thought that they could command me? Of all people, they expected me to just give up right then and there to follow their fucking orders? Who the hell did they think I was? Some toy soldier who only knew to take orders from anything and everything that was willing to give them? I saw two men, and a smaller figure. Ah, a woman, that was the voice I had heard then. Too high pitched to be a man, yet low due to the intimidation attempt. I simply smiled as I turned around to face them.

The two looked like all the other Armacham grunts I slaughtered, cocky and willing to die for no reason whatsoever. Who knew, maybe they were getting decent paychecks. I know mine weren't good enough for men with purpose, so maybe they hadn't any purpose. The woman... she held a different posture. She looked like someone might within my squad. All business on the outside, but had a personality that would make anyone befriend them. Hey, she also looked very beautiful despite everything. She reminded me of someone I met over in Korea when I was on leave for sometime. My HUD did something strange, and I saw the faces of the two men in a better light. They **were** Armacham soldiers. I found it interesting as their files had a lot of blacked out portions. Hell, I only knew their names. Thomas Smith, and Gregory Markov. Upon such realizations I heard doors open and more boots move throughout the halls.

"Lower your weapons, no-" The woman began to command before one of the men clocked her in the back of the head. Well, that was all I needed wasn't it?

Immediately I drew my weapons, time seeming to slow around me as I took aim and fired upon the men. My own actions seemed slow, though from what I gathered I was moving in a matter of seconds. The wonders adrenaline could do... My shots had already been fired before the woman completely hit the ground, and the men didn't have a chance to try their hand at firing on me in return. Regardless, their weapons went off and I ducked down as extra precaution. They had been hit in the head, they were dead, but I spun around to meet their friends with the same manner I had greeted the men upon showing their true colors. More fuckin' mercs looking to bag and tag my ass. It wasn't going to work. I had a mission at that point, and I was going to see it through. Especially since I was fighting for more than just myself. Keira found a safe place to stay at a mile away from the hospital. I didn't really ask how she evaded all of the bullshit, nor did I really care as long as she was safe.

My adrenaline must have worn off at that point, as everything sped up and I dove for cover just as a barrage of bullets slammed towards my previous position. If I had to describe what I felt at that moment... I could only compare it to suffering. Not a single inch of my body felt good, and my heart was pounding like some drummer in the middle of an intense arc of a heavy metal band's song. It was rough, and the air burnt my lungs more than it aided them. Regardless, I pushed forward and shot the mercs as they popped out of cover from the safety of my lovely desk. It was good cover, especially since it was made out of a thicker metal than one would thing. The final of the mercs tried sneaking up on me, but that didn't end well.

At the time it was a vicious fight for life and death, one that could easily turn for the worst in my case. Luckily that wasn't how fate had decided to unravel itself, and I managed to remove the mask and helmet from the man before bashing his pretty face in. He looked liek he hadn't been a part of any military organization for too long. Perhaps a new recruit for the battalion attacking this place. Regardless of what he was, Armacham lost a good soldier that day to a fucking doorknob. I almost felt bad for the door... I never saw a doorknob get taken off by the upper mouth of a person so quickly before. To make sure the man who was bleeding out was spared of something he probably deserved, I pointed my submachine gun at him and fired a three found burst into his face. Dangerous, useless, but I felt like the second coming for my good deed. It was then I looked over at the woman who had been busted over the head and sighed.

The fight had to have lasted at least thirty minutes, and she had been knocked out for just a tad bit longer. I slowly walked over to her and crouched down, placing my fingers to her neck to search for a pulse. I was rather pleased to find one still strong, only slightly less active as if she were sleeping. Which, she kind of was... Though in previous experiences I never had dreams when I got knocked out. I only saw darkness one moment, and the next I was waking up with a skull-splitting headache. I didn't care who she was at that point, but I was going to take her with me so she could answer a few questions. If she didn't prove useful, I'd leave her behind, and if she pursued me, I would kill her. So I picked her up, and carried her on my shoulder as I walked down the call. The entirety of the floor probably emptied of everything but fire and corpses. A job well done for me, if I do say so myself. There wasn't anything quite like waking up in a warzone where you discover you are the HVT everyone is after to either exterminate, experiment, or do something else to you.

My favorite part of that portion of my hospital adventure was probably the elevator. When I arrived, I saw a single merc trying to work the courage to do what I was about to do. He hadn't heard my approach, and I decided to be Jesus once more by coming in and helping my poor child. He found a boot to his ass, and all I heard was screaming before a body slammed against unforgiving and unrelenting metal. At the time I made myself think I enjoyed it, but in reality I hated everything that was going on around me. To this day I still do. All the killing, suffering, torturing, battles... It all just sucked. It made one put a mask on lest they get torn apart by such negativity, only to turn into a monster. Like that bitch who kept on making all of this happen.

I didn't hesitate to jump into the shaft with my newly found friend, holding onto her tightly with one hand as I regulated our fall with my hand. The cord was metal, it was a fucking elevator after all, but my gloves would prevent injury. The hand that didn't feel the metal, the one supporting the sleeping beauty on my shoulder was having the time of its life. I wasn't entirely sure, but I was pretty damned certain I was holding onto the unconscious woman's well-shaped ass as we made our descent together. My boots hit the top of the elevator with a decent thud, and I quickly crawled up onto the second floor and began walking through the Maternity Ward of the hospital. I didn't get but twenty five feet in before I felt a large explosion knock myself on my ass, dropping the woman on the ground unintentionally.

The explosion or the fall must have woken her up, as I heard her groan and quickly force herself to stand. I wasn't far behind, as we didn't get the worst of the explosion. She really didn't let up, as she tried to attack me before I had to grab her by the wrists and slam her against the wall. Even then I hadn't taken into account the woman's craftiness. That was when I felt a knee impact my gut, forcing me to back off and support the impact site with my one arm.

"Get down on the ground now! What did you do with my squad?!" The Asian woman asked, and I only chuckled.

"They're dead... and unless you support ATC I would suggest you shut your mouth about them being 'your squad.'" I replied rather defiantly, "Who are you?"

"F.E.A.R. Operative Jin Sun-Kwon. I'm here to retrieve you, Sergeant Becket, to pull you out of this mess." She informed me with some form of excitement in her voice, "And what do you mean? They were with us, not ATC!"

I shook my head with a smirk, "No. They definitely are ATC personnel. I can show you prove later, but for right now we need to get out of here. Wherever that explosion happened is our best bet unless you want to fight our way out."

"Explosion?" The woman asked before we saw three figures staggering down the hall, the one in the lead immediately drawing on us, me in particular. He was at a disadvantage due to the fact he was carrying a woman in his arms.

I hadn't seen anyone move as fast as she did to stop the man, "Hey! No, he's with us! It's the Sergeant! W-What happened to you?" She asked the man who merely grunted as he lowered the female down to the ground.

"You guys were hit with the explosion?" Jin asked, and the one wearing some strange heavy armory nodded.

"Aye," He confirmed, "We took a helicopter to this place, it got shot down by Armacham reinforcements heading to reinforce the hole we made in their troops. I need to head back to the wreck for Roddy, Jimmy, and Megan.

Logan groaned as he lowered the man he was carrying to the ground beside Michelle, "Fuck that guy weighs a ton." He muttered through heavy breaths.

"If you saw what he eats," Griffon said with a laugh, "You'd know why Ajax weighs as much as an elephant." With that brief joke, the man turned and started to walk away with the two others following closely behind.

I watched as Jin moved to aid those who were knocked out, finding any wounds on their bodies to patch them up. She seemed like a good woman. No, she definitely was a good woman. Sweet and innocent at the time, despite all the shit she had seen. I didn't know anything about what they faced, but as time would go on I would respect the men and women of F.E.A.R. and S.E.A.R.

I didn't know these people that were around me now, but they seemed like good allies to have. Little did I know what the hell being their friend would mean... Little did I know why I could see red eyes staring at me from the corners of my bloodshot, observing my movements when they thought I didn't spot them placed upon me. That little girl scared the shit out of me... And I had yet to find out how obsessed with me she truly was.

 **AN: Well guys, I hope you enjoyed it. It took me awhile to work on, but it finally got done. I hope the change of perspectives and new ideas are to be well received, and I apologize for any mistakes made on the grammar side of things. :) See you next time.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Prologue: Rise of the Terror Guard**

 _Chapter 5: Radio Silence_

 _0500 Hours, Second Day_

* * *

"Oh, well this is dandy innit? We got out of that bleedin' hospital, made it five blocks down the road, hunkered down for the night, an' now we lost all bloody contact to Command!" Griffon growled as he looked around, his eyes finally resting on Jin. "Plus we've our fuckin' VIP with no way to get him back safely."

"We planned on bringing him back? I thought-"

Griffon then interrupted Roddy, "Yes, I resigned to working with the fuckin' enemy! Of course not. I just didn't feel like getting squashed out by a bunch of fuckin' Replicas. We need to get him back to HQ before something happens to him. People don't just simply go walkin' about this city without having a bullet rushed into their dome."

Jin sighed before she cleared her throat, "Everyone's points are valid, especially Griffon's. The fact of the matter is simple... even if we get to HQ, we won't get accepted back in unless we can contact Command. Right now, they're not even responding to radio hailing. So, we're trapped up here until we get back in contact with them."

"Ma'am, if I may?" Logan asked as he walked over to Jin, who had nodded in return. "I worked as a grunt down in that facility for two years, and as maintenance for one year before that. I know of one other way we can enter it, or at the very least check on the status of everything down there. It is known to all units stationed there as Charlie-Romeo-Sierra. It's that radio station that before the nuke, stirred up the people and formed a resistance. It was still broadcasting until all radio signals were lost. Regardless, there's a secret area built underneath it. If we can get there... we've a way back to Command whether they permit it or not. Our mission is to get him back. It'd help complete our objective."

Becket only laughed, "You all talk like you're working under the jurisdiction of the United States' government, but not at the same time. You told me you were here to get me out of this place, not to bury me underneath it all. Besides, I'm not doing shit without Stokes and the rest of my team that survived."

"The First Lieutenant of Dark Signal is lost to us. You said it yourself, she's gone dark for nearly five hours now." Roddy stated with a shrug, "Even if she is out there, we don't have enough time to locate and save her. It's dangerous out there, either Armacham has her, the Replicas have her, or the entity raising Hell from down under has her. Either one of those are things not many recover from. The only one having done all three is the Point Man, and he isn't your normal man."

"I don't give a damn!" Becket growled as he stood up from his position of being slumped against a wall, "Regardless of what you have to say, I know Keira and I am not leaving her behind! Would you leave any of your squad mates behind? No! You wouldn't! So we're going to locate her, secure her, and then MAYBE I'll be keen to follow you into this underground facility. But not until we get Stokes."

Griffon sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Look. We'll search for your li'l girlfriend. Fine. But how are we supposed to do that without resources, numbnuts? Ask the fuckin' Replicas if they saw a girl runnin' around with a gun? Maybe we phone up Armacham and ask them- no, an even better idea, let's just fuckin' ask Alma Wade if she's seen her! That woman is easy to negotiate with before she tears your damned intestines out through your arse! We're not going to tear the city apart looking for her ass until we get the resources and opportunities to do so. We will be able to acquire such things at the fuckin' base we're meant to be takin' you anyways for fuck's sake."

Jin huffed lightly before nodding, "Griffon has a point, Sergeant. We are of no use to Stokes if we are dead before we find her. Regardless of whatever her status may be. What we need to do is make it back to our base. From there we can use all of our available resources to locate and get her back." She informed the man before looking over at the entrance to the apartment they were in, seeing the Point Man, Ajax, and Michelle enter.

"We found out what took out not only our communications, but more than likely every piece of communication equipment within Fairport." Michelle stated quickly, "Armacham has a signal jammer right at the airport with an effective radius of the entire damned city."

Jin raised her eyebrow before nodding slowly, "How did you come across this information?"

Ajax laughed as he showed the woman his bloodied knife before wiping it on the back of Roddy's combat uniform. "My specialty. Made a Merc-y squeal like a pig and tell me all of his dirty little secrets. Commander Richard Vanek, the Commander of all of ATC's operational combat forces is here in Fairport hunting down Aristide. Well, her and your people, Becket. Don't ask me why. Regardless, they've made certain to lock down Fairport so tight that nothing enters or leaves. This is causing tensions between the United States and the Corporation, but nothing honeyed words and some nice, fresh green paper can't resolve. Word is that he's tracking not only Aristide, but Dark Signal on their way to Wade Elementary. I love nice... juicy... raw gossip from underpaid mercenaries in pain."

"That's... a lot to go on, Ajax." Roddy said as he shrugged the shoulder that now had a good amount of blood on it. "Are you sure he wasn't just spreading lies?"

Griffon shook his head, "Harlan Wade was a fucked up man. It's more than likely that there's something at the school. Especially if Aristide is makin' a bee-line for it. Anythin' with Wade at the end of it was some sort of fucked Armacham experiment behind it. I say it's worth checking out, if we don't find them it will at most provide some further intel on everything that Armacham is planning. I'd rather get there before those pyromaniacs F.E.A.R. met at the hospital do."

"Indeed," Jin said softly, "Well, we're going to be walking there unless we find transport along the way. Let's go."

Becket nodded slowly, "Now this is something I can get behind..."

* * *

As they left the building they saw something that didn't really surprise any of them. The state of the city was rapidly deteriorating. Buildings had fallen, or had gotten chunks of them torn out by various different means. Mostly the war, explosions and vehicle crashes did that to any sort of infrastructure. The sky was black thanks to how early it was, though even if the sun's rays had shown themselves they would have been choked out by the smoke arising from various fires burning throughout the city. Bodies littered the streets with various causes of deaths. Some bullets, some vicious tears, and some of them were even scorched or broken from the explosion that had occurred not that long ago. Griffon was used to such sights. He was a part of many bloody battles, some of them in parts of the world he never thought he would escape from. Fairport was definitely one of those places, but the Scot made it his duty to not allow it to affect him like the other places he had been. He wasn't nearly as afraid now as he was back when he first joined S.E.A.R. Back in the day he was afraid of having to deal with things that no man should ever have to deal with. Demons? Hauntings? Why would anyone think of those to be true? Before he joined S.E.A.R. he just thought of such occurrences as fakes, stories generated by men and women wanting to make creative writings, games, and art. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, and Alma Wade was the girl to show him that.

"So, how'd you all wind up serving for your country?" Roddy asked, "I always felt it was my duty to serve the United States. It allowed my family to move here from a hellish environment in Eastern Europe."

Griffon chuckled, "I joined S.E.A.R. because it was out of my comfort zone. Thought it would be good training, and would break me down and allow myself to rebuild and change the way I lived my life. I was right to an extent." The Scotsman explained, "Some things never change though, well, perhaps they do. I'm no longer criticizing myself over my actions because I'm too busy having nightmares about some ghost bitch killin' me in me sleep."

Logan shrugged as he thought about why he had joined. It was quite the lifetime of occurrences that brought him to where he was. He looked around and discovered that everyone wanted him to go next. Either that or they were all stuck doing the same thing he was. The man huffed before he spoke.

"I had a shit childhood. In fact, I didn't have a childhood at all. I lived on the streets with my mother. She got with multiple men, I saw her get abused by them, I got abused by them... Hell, I was stabbed at the age of seven and had to get patched up by a Hispanic lady living on the corner of downtown named Rosetta. Fast forward a few years and I gained weight, weighed three-twenty give or take ten. Never more than three-forty. Lived with my grandmother after bullshit went down. She was stressed to all Hell, and eventually I guess it just broke me down. I signed up for the Air Force to begin with, and well, my journey had started. Don't ask me how, or why, but I always seemed to get transferred. I went from Air Force, to Navy, to Army, to Marines before I got a call from the big boss. Got told I was to be relocated here to Fairport, under the command of Betters. After being a glorified janitor, and then a guard... boom. Here I am. Trying out for F.E.A.R." The man explained with a huff, "I suck at telling stories."

Ajax chuckled, "Nah. I suck at telling stories. Honestly I joined S.E.A.R. because I saved Griffon's ass after the first squad got torn to pieces by a monstrosity in Ukraine. He saw my worth. Now I'm his second in command, the only survivor of squads two, three, and four."

"Impressive resume." Logan stated with a whistle, "Much better than mine."

"Hey, you hopped through every single branch of the United States military in one life, and you're what? Twenty?" Ajax asked.

The man shook his head, "Twenty-six. Fuck, I wish I was twenty. Maybe my body would feel better than it does now. I took a hit in Afghanistan back during my time serving under the Marines. Nothing too terribly life changing... but the ache is still there. Some shrapnel as well, I think."

"Eh, we all feel like that after awhile. What 'bout you kid? What's your story?" Ajax asked Michelle as they walked, taking note of the silent Point Man and Jin who had taken the lead of the group.

He then looked over at Becket, the man carrying himself like a proper soldier. He wasn't anything special, at least to Ajax. All he saw was a man who was trapped in a hellish environment, scared, cautious... It reminded him of a younger him, until he took that damned trip to Chernobyl for a college assignment. Eighteen, fresh out of High School. Shipped to Chernobyl for points in History and some science he forgot the name of. Becket reminded him of himself during that first year or two in Ukraine. Then the years droned on... and, well... That was a fun time... and a story for another day.

"Honestly?" Michelle asked, "I'm just carrying on my family's history. Grandfather was Army, father was a Marine, mother in the Navy... And me? Well, I went Marine like my father. Got told I was being stationed under the command of Betters. One thing led to another and boom, I'm trying out right now for F.E.A.R."

Griffon chuckled lightly before shaking his head, "Cut the chatter now, we got a long ways to go 'til we're at the damned school. Lotta warzone t' cover."

"Understood, sir!" Logan acknowledged immediately as they continued.

Warzone. That was an understatement for Fairport at that point. The skies were still choked with smoke, buildings were crumbling due to the blast and the warfare going around. The entire atmosphere burned in an orange hue common to a city set aflame, both literally and figuratively. Corpses littered the streets. Civilians, police, soldiers, Armacham, mercenaries, and Replicas. Fairport was a honeypot for almost everyone wanting to make their power, riches, and knowledge grow. There was a lot of technology lying around at the moment, and a lot of secrets that once discovered, could be used for the wrong purposes. Fortunately for the world, it would be difficult for anyone to extract any piece of tech, or document as the place was at war. Anything going in got shot at, and anything going out got shot at. Anything inside was really just survival of the fittest. Whoever could shoot first would win to see another day.

 _"I know you're trying to cheat me..."_ Griffon heard the girl's voice state, _"You and I both know that cannot happen. Your survival lies with me... join me, do not fight me. You can't win this game..."_

 _"It isn't like you are able to get too far with Becket anyway. I know where you are, where you are going, and where you plan to be going. I've always been there, watching. My Replicas are allowing you safe passage. I am allowing you safe passage. If you refuse me for the final time, however, I can't allow you to keep on going down that path."_ The girl informed the man as he continued to walk.

Griffon was good at tuning people out, but when it came to people literally talking to him through his own thoughts... It would be easy to say that he wasn't going to be able to ignore Alma Wade for all that long. He knew that they were probably playing into Alma's trap. It wasn't like they could really do anything that would catch that girl off guard. She wasn't an entity that was bound by the strict physical rules of the world. She could ignite things on fire, and melt the skin right off of your bones in a moment's notice. How could they possibly throw her off track?

 _"Alright I'll do it."_ The man said in his mind, assuming she'd be able to hear him. _"But I'm not going to force my team to join me. They've lost many friends to your bullshit, and I'm only doing this so that the world can normalize itself again. I'm sick of Armacham, and all the pain it brings to the world."_

 _"The infection doesn't just lie within my father's baby, Griffon..."_ The girl informed him, _"It also lies within those who allowed it to grow without any care to the pain it has given to the innocent. The world must be cleansed. Everything must be built anew, so that the infection is forever dealt with."_

"Woah, woah, woah! Get down!" Griffon ordered aloud as the Point Man and Jin quickly moved to the side of the street behind some fallen debris.

The rest of the group did the same, readying their weapons and watching all around whilst making sure not to move too much. Only the three who were up front knew what was approaching. Everyone else had different jobs, like looking to the sides and even behind them. They rarely looked forward, and all they got was a glimpse of something heading straight towards them. Something large, and black. Perhaps a tank or something like it. They definitely would not be able to handle a tank, not with their limited equipment. It wasn't like they had rocket launchers or anything of the sort to deal with such heavy armor.

Their assumptions were almost right. Armored Personnel Carriers. A lot of them. They held the Armacham logos, and that just meant that they did not want to be caught by them. Those vehicles were armed to the teeth, and then you had the fifteen or so men inside of them ready to hop out and destroy anything in their path. The Point Man bit his lip as he watched the vehicles pass right by them. He was preparing for the worst, knowing that they may have spotted them on the road as they were driving. There was just that very small chance that they did. Thankfully they passed by without a problem, though that didn't mean much with the patrols that were making their rounds in the wide open area ahead of them. They were moving into the buildings which meant that there wasn't a good way to avoid them other than taking out anyone they came across stealthily.

"We're gonna have to be quiet from here on out. Stick to the shadows. Alleys and the like, kill like a shadow." Griffon stated softly as he looked back at everyone, "Keep your weapons handy, lads. No shots fired unless necessary."

"Understood, sir." Logan replied, "Where to?"

"We follow the Point Man." Griffon stated softly as he looked around. This suit seemed to be proving much better than anything else he had tried in the past.

The group started to make their way into the alleys of the suburban environment. Their best bet was to not encounter any enemy force at all, but that wasn't going to be an option for them. They were already surrounded. The only thing they could hope for was to avoid having to kill any of them. That wasn't going to be simple, especially with a group of their size. They all recognized this problem, though there was nothing they could do about it. They could always fracture into different, smaller groups, but that just led to further risks that they didn't even have at the moment.

Griffon sighed as he tried to come up with a plan of attack, and eventually he stopped everyone in a small crossroads of sorts in the alleyway. "Alrigh', we're not gettin' through this mess if we keep on walkin' together. We need some people to go 'round and eliminate OP-FOR for us so the majority can pass without too much worry." He informed everyone, and the Point Man nodded as he agreed with the plan.

It was the wiser choice. They would be close to support the entire time, whilst also making sure that the enemies surrounding them were put down before they could discover and alert their friends of their presence. The only problem was deciding who would go. Point Man already volunteered for that job upon being transferred into F.E.A.R. as the Point Man. Griffon knew this, and so the man was picked already for the job.

"Point Man's gonna be one o'them. Need two more volunteers." He stated softly.

Ajax raised his hand, "I'm good at being sneaky-deaky-like. Just like Pripyat."

Griffon chuckled quietly as he nodded, "Who else?"

"I'll go." Logan stated, "I signed on to get my hands dirty, sir. These fucks are harming innocents. I'll dispatch them with extreme prejudice and subtlety."

"Good man." Griffon stated, "I'll stay with the main group. We'll quietly make a barricade and hold position for you lot to inform us when the coast is clear."

"Roger that." Logan stated, and the three men readied their weapons.

* * *

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, the Point Man was gone. All that was left of him was that gust of wind that was barely felt on the air. He was climbing the buildings, seeking an insertion point on one of the roofs. A good strategy. No one would expect anything from above since there were no birds flying to and fro. Besides, the higher ground was always better than the lower ground. Not that you couldn't win with the odds stacked against you. Soon enough the man was on the rooftop, and he readied his weapons before spotting two snipers. Both of which were completely focused on the streets.

He very quietly stalked up to the first one, and once he was within range he quickly shot up and grabbed the man. He made sure to cover his mouth and nose before taking and twisting his neck until he heard a sickening pop. Once he had audio confirmation, he slit the man's throat with his combat knife before continuing on to the next. This one didn't get such a take-down, instead he got a knife directly to the side of the head. The Point Man then tore it from his skull and caught his corpse before it fell over the edge of the roof. He didn't care too much about the noise issue, and so he just dropped the corpse back on the concrete rooftop.

Two snipers dispatched in the matter of moments. Now it was time to push into the building. Something that he needed to do quickly if he hoped to provide the majority of the group with better cover. Anyone could easily spot something strange in the alleys. Even if they didn't spot the group themselves right away.

Logan had a similar idea, though he was just trying to clear a path towards the no-man's land. An area where resistance fighting had pushed of all attackers. One of the last free spots of Fairport, really, ran by a well-known neighborhood watchman. A good man, who was rather honorable in the way he conducted things. Logan was well informed of everything going on within Fairport, mostly because he was working in the Command Center when shit was going down. He got to hear everything that was going on. Or at least pretty close to everything. He was certain that once the group made it to the no-man's land they would be safe to take a breather. Which, really, that was what they needed. A breather. They were almost caught by an APC and that alone got everyone's adrenaline pumping.

Soon enough he was traversing through backyards, and he heard something he didn't like to hear. Dogs. Hounds that ATC had to sniff out enemies. They must have believed there were people in the area hostile towards their operations. That just begged the question of what ATC was even doing in the district to begin with. Weren't they supposed to be focusing on the school from what Ajax told them? Eh, it was most likely ATC trying to conduct damage control. Destroy all evidence, even if it meant killing the entire populace of the city to do so. Then blame it on a tragedy unrelated to them and work on getting better relations with the United States. See, one thing that everyone had overlooked due to lack of knowledge was actually that the United States were working with ATC. Armacham offered to deal with the Fairport incident, and the United States only circled the city and blockaded it to help make Armacham's job easier. Oh... when everyone found out about that... There would be Hell to pay.

Dogs. Why'd it have to be dogs? Such were the thoughts that ran through Logan's mind as he heard the beasts make their way to the alley. Fuck. He had to think fast. If he opened fire, then all surrounding units would push in on him, and thus those in the alley. He had to think of something! There had to be a way! The man brought out his knife, seeing the only way to be successful in this to take the dog out as it rounded the corner. If the dog brought the attention of its owner, it would be practically the same thing as alerting the entire neighborhood with gunshots. He just hoped there weren't more hounds. There were, though none of them nearby this one. Thankfully.

Sure enough he saw the German Shepherd round the corner, and immediately he lunged forward. Before the animal could react, it found itself in the man's grasp as he violently stabbed at its body until he felt it go limp, only whines and quiet groans escaping it. He felt bad. He didn't like killing animals. He didn't like killing in general, but it was his job. Once the animal's life was extinguished he took a deep breath and peeked around the corner.

Its owner was heading towards the corner as well. He must have heard something, or wondered where his dog was going. Logan rolled his eyes, wondering if this is how his luck was going to be for the next few days. The ATC Soldier rounded the corner and immediately pointed his gun where Logan was, but the FEAR Operative in training had quickly stood up and slashed his knife. The man's throat was cut, and Logan made sure that his gun was retrieved and sat gently on the ground. He couldn't risk a fire going off.

 _"Alma."_ Griffon thought as he watched Logan take down his two opponents and pile their bodies in the dark alley. _"What's so special to you about Sergeant Becket? He's just your average soldier."_

The man didn't expect a response. Why would he get one with the way he spoke of the girl? Hell, he even threatened to betray her in the end. Carrying out his original mission rather than keeping his word and working with Alma Wade. But, nevertheless he felt the cold aura of Alma once more. Even in his heated armor it made him shiver. He wasn't used to her presence. Nor did he think he ever would get used to it.

 _"His past."_ The girl replied, _"That is all that is special about him, Jonathan. The only other benefit he has is his abilities, but anyone who captures Armacham's twisted interest can acquire those."_

The man bit his lip, surprised at the girl's response. How did she know his name? He thought that had been covered in black ink long ago. Well, maybe there was a little bit more to Alma than he expected. She seemed resourceful. What no one knew was that there was a data leak within the chain of command for various companies, including the United States government itself. Armacham was the only place left untouched by those sympathetic to Alma. Well, at least recently. There were a few that helped her gain more knowledge about various things, but they were quickly taken out by Armacham Black Ops.

 _"You seem to obsess over him, is all."_ Griffon thought with a soft sigh following, _"We will never be able to follow you if he takes command. You probably know how F.E.A.R. and S.E.A.R. operates. We don't like outsiders. It would be a stretch to command with you leading us, which means that it would only make sense for a joint operation. And that's if my people wish to sign on."_

 _"I know these things, Griffon. Becket is merely a means to an end right now. I have a plan for him, nothing more. Nothing less. When he runs out of his usefulness he will be let go. If he is a threat, he will be disposed of appropriately. You have nothing to worry about... To you and your people he is nothing of importance. He simply poses a threat to Armacham and as such he is useful."_ The girl whispered, _"Besides... He was designed to be a trap for me. He isn't anything like you, or any of those who follow you and my baby into battle."_

The man simply chuckled as he looked over at Jin, who was looking at him curiously. "Sorry. I was just thinking of Pripyat since Ajax mentioned it. We got a call in to my Command, and we were to be extracted near the Ferris Wheel. The fucker knew that we were surrounded, so what does he do? Climbs to a top car of the wheel and starts sharpshooting bastards."

Jin smiled, "Sounds like he's quite the soldier."

"Aye, that he is. He's saved my life more times than I can count." Griffon stated with a smile behind his mask. "He still never told me what he was doing in Ukraine. He isn't from around there."

 _"You are also better at improvisation than he..."_ Alma added with a playful giggle.

The man simply huffed before standing up, "What are they doing, clearing out the entire area?"

Jin shook her head, "That's kind of the point, Griffon. We make a move with Armacham forces in the area, we're going to encounter resistance. We want the path of least resistance."

"I suppose. I just don't like sitting here, either. It'd only take one man to see one of us and we're all screwed either way. Simply put, we're sitting ducks." The man replied with a sigh.

Jin shook her head, "Not your call on this one, sadly. We're holding position until the others come back. Then we're moving ahead. We are trying to get Becket to safety, not thrown in the middle of a firefight."

That made the Sergeant only chuckle quietly, "I can handle myself if it ever came to that, I'd like to think. Thank you for your concern, though." Becket responded as he checked his rifle over.

He honestly sympathized with the Scotsman on this matter. He wanted to get moving, but at the same time he knew the importance of clearing out the area. They were a large squad, one that consisted of ten people. They wouldn't make it too far without drawing attention. Were he in charge he would have had slightly different orders, which would have promoted moving and safety. Waiting around did nothing. But alas, he wasn't the one in charge. This Miss Kwon seemed to be the one leading the mission.

That was one of the reasons why S.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. never really worked together. They had two different leaders, and if they were forced to work together they still maintained their current objectives. This operation felt more like S.E.A.R. was being dissolved by Betters, at least to Griffon. In reality, Betters had only okay'd the two organizations working together on this one mission due to its importance. F.E.A.R. and S.E.A.R. were both government-funded organizations. They were no better than any other military force in the United States of America, and because of that they had a job to do. Countless of DELTA teams were lost in Fairport because of the outbreak, and Armacham was taking some serious flak for their negligence. Thus, they weren't seen as an ally to the U.S., and as such F.E.A.R. and S.E.A.R. were the only bodies of the military able to make a move within the city.

Jin was just the best pick for a collaborative effort, and everyone acknowledged that. Even Griffon. He'd rather have her be the lead of it than himself. More or less, he was complaining about the small thorns in his sides as a consequence of her orders, and even then he couldn't help but take some of the blame. This was a group decision, not any real order. She just made sure the order was followed through. Ironic that the strictness of a leader was one that managed to piss him off just a little bit inside.

Though, the man's mind was in shambles. There was a lot running through it, and if he were being honest the whole Alma situation wasn't making it any easier. She had good points, and each point she brought up made him want to help her with whatever her plans were. The problem with helping her with those plans was the simple fact that he served the U.S., and his men over any personal ideals he had. He didn't want to give up that job either as it was all he had known for many years. He, and anyone wanting to follow him, would have to cut all ties they had with any other group there was. In this case, the United States and its armed forces.

It was for a good cause though. That was one thing it had running for it. After this mission he'd just have to seek the thoughts of his team. That was all he cared about. Maybe if they accepted he would pass on the offer to the F.E.A.R. team. Well, that was if **he** accepted. He still wasn't sure about the specifics. Working for a dead girl wasn't exactly something he had ever thought about doing, and quite frankly it didn't pay nearly as well as working for the living. Or did it? He didn't know Alma's views on such matters.

Ajax groaned as he felt himself get kneed in the gut. Unfortunately the man had been forced to engage in close combat with one of Armacham's soldiers. The man he was fighting was well trained, but Ajax had fought worse. In fact, this man he was fighting was more or less a chew toy for him. He made that evident as he quickly caught a single flaw in the way the man conducted his fighting, and snapped his arm. Whilst he did that, he quickly moved his arm to cover the man's mouth as he screamed. With his opponent now resting in his arms, one final twist was delivered and Ajax emerged victorious with his foe crumpled up underneath him.

The man spit on the ground beside the man, readying his rifle whilst looking around. There wasn't much to be seen. It was an apartment, or at least it used to be. The couple there were killed by something. Ajax couldn't discern what, as he didn't see any blood. Perhaps the explosion gave them a heart attack. He couldn't blame them. It almost had given him one.

"The way forward is clear." Ajax informed everyone through his radio, "Haven't heard from the other two."

He awaited a response for some time, looking over the apartment to see if it contained anything useful. It really didn't, at least, nothing of any real importance. They had nice electronics. A good gaming PC, countless consoles, and a large flat screen in the living room. Ajax, if he really wanted to, could strip them for parts and make IED's, but the time to make them would be too much for everyone. He then saw a picture of the deceased couple, and frowned. They were a cute couple. One that didn't deserve death. That picture alone made him question their demise. They were young, and a heart attack was strange for people of their age. If he had to guess, they were maybe twenty. Hell, the girl looked to be eighteen or nineteen.

As he thought about such things, his radio activated and he heard the familiar voice of Logan. "I've cleared my sector, but I've overheard some of their radios stating that they're going to be reinforcing the perimeter. We're gonna wanna get a move on before it's too late."

"Yes, and the Point Man returned to us. He's covered his sector." Jin pitched in.

Ajax sighed as he started heading to the exit of the apartment, "Understood. I'm on my way. Any developments on your end, Miss Kwon?"

"Negative. Everything is looking good so far, and we're all ready to get moving as soon as you two get here." The woman stated, "Double time it."

"Aye aye, madame." Ajax said with a chuckle before pushing the door open and rushing to regroup.

Once everyone gathered up they moved out from the alleyway courtyard. Just in time as well, since Armacham reinforcements were starting to enter the apartments to find their sentries that didn't report in. They'd be on high alert, but thanks to the hasty efforts of the three men... The group would be long gone. Though, it wasn't like most of them were afraid to fight. Half of them wanted to.

So our group made their escape in a timely manner, and set away towards their destination. Wade Elementary was quite the distance away, but they were entering the no-man's land of Fairport now. Neither Replica nor Armacham troops set foot there, as it was dominated by well placed explosives and the People's Militia. Of course... our friends did not know that. Nor would they for some time...


	7. Chapter 6

**Prologue: Rise of the Terror Guard**

 _Chapter 6: An Understanding_

 _20:40 Hours, Second Day_

* * *

The Point Man slowly walked up the steps to the Elementary School, scanning his surroundings whilst his team moved up with him. Entering the school was always going to be the hard part. The Point Man knew that. Anyone with any combat experience whatsoever knew that. They were out in the open, their only cover being the sides of the stairs, of which they'd have to fall on their asses to get behind. Something that no one wanted to do. Thankfully, it seemed like they weren't being watched by anyone. If they were being watched, it was by someone who was waiting for a much better moment than them ascending a staircase with little cover. That alone was a scary thought that could keep anyone on edge. If they hadn't taken the shot yet...what qualified as a better opportunity?

Soon they had made it to the front doors. The S.E.A.R. Team was already moving around the school so they could enter it from the back. It just felt natural to do something like that, especially since they were more or less rescuing a hostage. That left Logan, Michelle, Becket and Jin with the Point Man. A combination he was rather alright with. For new operatives, Michelle and Logan had proven themselves to be competent, if not still somewhat youthful in their own rights. Not that the Point Man knew what youth was, having been trained to snap the necks of fully grown men since he was just a boy.

"S.E.A.R in position." Griffon informed them over their radios.

"Go silent, everyone, we don't want anyone getting tipped off before we have eyes on the Lieutenant." Jin ordered over the radios as they fashioned silencers to their weapons.

"Quick and silent. Got it." Griffon stated and for a brief moment of time forgot to turn his radio off, "Roddy, get the flash ready."

"We breach on your go, Point Man." Jin stated with a smile, looking over at her fellows to make sure everyone was ready to go, and they were.

The Point Man didn't respond to Jin's words. Instead, he acted upon them. Their way of entry was simple, the Point Man would rush inside and clear out the immediate threat whilst the rest of the F.E.A.R. team would move in and assist him with anything else. They weren't expecting too harsh of resistance in terms of numbers, but no one really could tell with all of the chaos happening in the world. Ever since Alma was released from her prison, Fairport had turned into Hell to the most literal sense.

Immediately upon entering the Point Man began shooting. Armacham Black Ops agents had infiltrated the Wade Elementary School, something that was not surprising in the slightest. He had expected something like that given the fact the school had the name Wade on it. That meant that there was some pretty shady business going on within its halls. What he didn't know was quite how sadistic such business was. Sure, he knew how bad Armacham could be, he and his brother were lab rats since the day they were born. What he didn't know was that something seemingly unrelated to the places of study, like those that he and his brother had grown up in, was actually related to it all. His mother used to attend this school for gifted children, or at least, children that Armacham thought could be used as weapons. Like his mother, for instance, was the most successful subject. Even to this day, Armacham's attempts at replicating her were nothing but wastes of time and money. They could get so close to succeeding, but that mattered not when it all came crashing down.

Armacham Black Ops. Men and women who trained like the Special Forces of any nation, if not better. Hell, some of them did have their roots in the militaries around the world. A good thirty percent of them had prior Special Forces training. The rest? The rest were selected because of their exemplary performance in battle, or because they had skills that Armacham needed deployed on the field. But there was plenty of issues with them. Most of them were older. Well out of their prime years, and often times with some unresolved issues within their personal lives from their years of service. Something that didn't exactly promote the most functional Black Ops unit in the world. But they got their job done. Most of the time.

They weren't expecting any resistance in the school. The most resistance they expected to encounter were police officers and civilians. People they could dispatch easily without any real concern. That, of course, wasn't the case. They were dealing with a man far more superior than any of them could have ever have hoped to be. The Point Man, a man could slaughter an entire group of people in the blink of an eye. Or something damn close to it. But he wasn't the only one. The recruits alongside him were experts in the way of warfare. Jin would pick any one of them up in a heartbeat if they went down as well. They were set.

The four men that the Point Man ran into weren't anything special. Just the common Black Ops soldiers. Riff raff with a little bit bigger of a resume than the other common soldiers of Armacham. Men that were disposable on high risk missions but not the low risk shit. It didn't matter how Armacham labeled them in the end, however. They were dead. There was no other alternative. With four precise gunshots, the bodies dropped with loud thuds as their equipment slammed against the ground. Immediately the Point Man scanned the rest of the room. The only things he spotted were corpses of men and women who sought shelter inside of the building, and the cameras that were still on. They were being watched. The only question was; who was watching?

The rest of the F.E.A.R. team pushed in and secured the area whilst the Point Man thought about their next move. They were in the lobby now, and that meant they had three ways of progressing. The left hall, the right hall, and straight down the middle. The middle was out of the question, and so they barricaded and wedged the door to prevent anyone without fairly decent explosives from getting into the lobby and flanking them. Now the question was a simple matter of left or right.

"According to the layout of the building, the right hall is where a majority of the classrooms are located. The staircase to the second floor is also located there at the far end of the hall." Jin stated softly as she examined her handheld device. "The left is where most of the lockers are, and where the cafeteria is."

Logan chuckled, "I don't think I could stomach a bite to eat right now. A good offer, though." He said softly, taking a look over at the left hallway.

"It sounds like the right hall would be a fairly bad choice. A lot of areas for enemies to flank us from. We don't have enough people to search all of the rooms at once either..." Michelle stated with a small groan, "Which is quite unfortunate. We would have if... well, if we weren't betrayed."

"Get a wedge on the right door, and barricade it. We're going to start sweeping the place on the left side." Jin ordered, and Michelle moved to do just that. "Clear the left side, and we won't be getting surprise attacked from behind."

"What if they break through the wedge?" Logan asked the woman in charge, who had merely shrugged in response.

"Think of it as a story, Logan. We make it up as we go along, should we come across that issue. I doubt it will be an issue though. The only way they're getting through those doors is if they brought powerful enough explosives." Jin stated before looking over at the Point Man.

He was already gone down the left corridor.

The Point Man wasn't one to sit around and 'strategize' whilst there was work to be done. He made sure he had a rhythm to his combat, and that was about it. When engaging enemies, like surfer, he'd handle the waves, no matter how harsh they were. It had gotten him that far, he figured, so why stop what he was doing? His reflexes were above that of even the most experienced and trained of athletes.

As he progressed through the hallway he started to take in his surroundings. The structural integrity of the building was in a state of disrepair. The halls were crumbling and falling apart. The marble-like floors had chunks misplaced and cracked all over them. The decorations weren't any better. Wallpapers, paintings, and the like were all dated. But it didn't look like this before the nuclear incident. No... this was Alma's work.

ATC could do all they wanted to try and contain the situation happening at the school, but there was one variable that wasn't so easily controlled. A variable that would mean the death of countless mercenaries and Black Ops agents. Alma Wade. For years they tried to contain her, and in some sense they did... but she wasn't a stupid woman. She had years to plan her release from the confines of that prison, and now that she was released? They'd better have every single warrior and scientist in the world if they wished to contain her. Unfortunately for the Corporation... they did not.

Point Man stopped when he came across a dead squad of operatives. It was a rather gruesome sight. Something tore them apart, and if they were in-tact they weren't any better off, really, considering that meant their insides were either liquefied, they were burnt alive, or their eyes were gouged out amongst other things. The Point Man himself even scrunched his face up slightly in disgust at the sight, and this was a man who has seen much worse at the hands of Alma Wade. This wasn't Alma. Alma destroyed people completely, often times only leaving bones in her wake. This was something else, or someone else. Armacham wouldn't turn on their own people, would they? They would...but that wasn't the work of any soldier.

After he was done taking pity on the deceased, he turned his gaze forward and continued going. The lights that were illuminating the hall reached their end at that point as well, meaning the Point Man was going into darkness. He was used to that, and he knew that there was something lurking in the shadows ahead, and as such he slipped his finger over the trigger of his assault rifle.

"Where's the Point Man gone?" Logan asked as he looked around the well lit and maintained hallway. "He just...vanished. It's ominous when he does that."

Jin gave a soft chuckle, though she felt the same uneasiness as Logan. "I don't know, but the Point Man never leaves without a reason. He's more than likely up ahead, doing his job."

"Relax, Logan, your hero is alright. He's been through worse than Elementary School." Michelle teased the man before Logan huffed.

"That's not funny, Michelle... This is more than likely some sick experiment by Armacham again. All these people feel the need to do is to torture kids for the sake of science and supernatural power." Logan said in a rather defeated tone, "I hate to think about how many kids have been harmed underneath this damned roof..."

"Can we cut the chatter and just find Keira before something bad happens to her?" Becket groaned as they kept pressing forward.

The Point Man, however, wasn't having as easy of a time as they were traversing the same hallway. His version of the hallway was a scene ripped straight out of Hell itself, and the worst part of it all was that as he progressed further down the hallway, the more gruesome the scenery was. This time he could see shadowy figures. It was a waste of ammunition, but the Point Man wasn't going to take chances as those things charged at him. Only one, and sometimes two bullets were necessary to send the shades back to wherever they had come from. Were their numbers fewer, the expense of bullets wouldn't be too bad. However, he had already burnt through at least thirty of the creatures.

Alma's work. He knew that much. His dearest mother was releasing these horrors on the world. Those things must have been what took out the Black Ops squad. That was the only real explanation of why they died in such a horrific manner.

'Wonder what her plan is this time...' The Point Man thought to himself, 'Why would she be throwing this in our way... Where are the others? They should have been right behind me by now...'

And so, perhaps against better judgement, the man stopped and turned around. He had an urge to look, even if it was for no reason whatsoever. As soon as he turned he saw her standing there. Bloodied feet, a long blood red dress, pale skin and eyes glowing in the dimly lit hallway. Her raven-black hair flowing down to her shoulders as she just looked the Point Man in the eyes.

"Why do you hate me?" She asked with her voice a soft, chilling whisper. A voice the Point Man didn't exactly want to hear ever again after the shit he went through not even a week ago. "Am I really that bad... Jackson?"

The Point Man swallowed at that moment, and lived to regret it as it felt like the saliva got stuck right in the middle of his throat. "I-I don't hate you..." He spoke in his raspy, rarely ever used voice. "I hate... what you do..."

"A-And what is it that I do, that you just so happen to hate...?" Alma inquired further, slowly approaching her son before stopping and looking up into his eyes. "I've been making the bad guys pay for what they did to us..."

Jackson slowly shook his head, "You kill thousands in the name of revenge. People who had nothing to do with your death. Innocents...just because they get in your way. Those construction workers had nothing to do with your death. Those workers you killed... none of them linked to Armacham, or Project Origin..."

"A byproduct of war..." Alma stated softly, "I can't control the actions of every single Replica... I control their Commanders... and they control their men..."

"That doesn't explain those I witnessed you kill..." The Point Man argued, "I know that you are making new friends amongst us... But I won't be joining you, if that's what you want. You have no morals...and I need to see to it that you are put to rest."

Alma sighed before looking down at her bloodied feet, "I knew you'd say that... and I'm sorry... my dearest baby boy..." She whispered before vanishing into a silhouette of ash.

'You will change your mind... I'm sure of it...' Alma whispered, and just like that her presence vanished.

If only it stopped there, that would have been great. Unfortunately for the Point Man... that was anything but the truth. Shadows appeared from the walls, those same horrors from before. He had only one reaction to this, and so he raised his weapon and began firing at them whilst moving down the hallway. He had to see the other side of it. His mother would surely be throwing an army at him now, trying to slow him down from whatever it was she thought he was trying to achieve. In doing so, however, she'd lead him to something she didn't want him seeing more than likely. That's what he was secretly hoping for as he pressed onwards.

He finally made it to the end of the hallway, only to get beset upon by a few abominations. Creatures clearly from his mother's imagination, or Hell, whichever one was more believable. He personally couldn't differentiate the two. One had caught him off guard, and it's slender, blade-like fingers cut into the Point Man's side, causing the man to groan loudly before he sent a good four bullets into the creature's head via its jaw. It crumpled to the ground after that, and burnt away in a rather bright flame. Of course, there were still more there, and the Point Man hadn't the chance to stop and look at the rather beautiful display. Instead, he clutched his side and kept firing on. Two. Three. Four... Five... He lost count after ten of those abominations charged after him. He finally finished them off, taking the last one by its neck and bashing it against a wall before sending a bullet into its head. The Point Man now had an injury to tend to, but he had to get to safety before he even thought about doing that.

So he proceeded down the new hallway, and eventually he hit a point where the scenery changed seemingly in an instant. Now he was back in the school he remembered. It was well kept, and looked as if it had just been used a few days ago before the explosion. It was nothing like that hellish rendition of it, and for that, the Point Man thanked anyone listening genuinely before collapsing to his hands and knees, blood pouring from his wound.

That was when the rest of his team arrived, "Point Man!" Logan called out as he and Michelle rushed to secure their mentor.

Jin was close behind them, having already prepared her medic bag along the way. "What happened to you?! We haven't run into any resistance yet..." She said softly, though once she saw the claw marks she knew it wasn't anything normal.

The Point Man merely groaned as he was being tended to. They didn't have time to remove his armor or clothing, so they could only treat what they saw with bandages laced with medicine. They just had to get the bleeding to stop, and to prevent infection. They had a mission to do, and unless he was incapacitated, he still had a job to do. But again, he was used to such a thing. It wasn't like Alma had given him any true moment of recovery back when he was leading the charge to the Origin facility. It wasn't like he had backup then, either. He had to self-treat his wounds back then. Now he had Jin, who was an expert on patching broken things up. A good thing for the F.E.A.R. team... With how many hits they all would come to take, Jin would be a life-saver.

"Logan, Michelle, keep your eyes pointed forward. I got our rear." Becket ordered as he crouched down and looked back from the way they had come from.

He didn't trust this place. Especially after what happened to the Point Man. Those wounds looked like those given to him from an animal. Not a soldier. There weren't many bears or large cats in major cities either, which sparked more than a few red flags in the man's head. So they locked down the perimeter. Whatever had attacked the Point Man wouldn't be getting the jump on them. Not this time, at least.

"You're lucky we found you when we did... What were you doing running ahead like that without alerting anyone?" Jin scolded the man as she worked on getting him fully operational, which wasn't taking long at all. "Logan, when we get going you're on point. I'm not risking anyone's life more than necessary."

"Roger that." Logan stated, his eyes not leaving the corridor ahead of them.

Soon enough, Jin had the Point Man back up and on his feet, though when he tried to leave she quickly grabbed his shoulder. "No. Logan's on point. You're staying where I can reach you."

The man huffed before his eyes shot over to Logan who started speaking, "Am I the only one who is creeped out that he got gored by something, and we don't even know what to look out for?" Logan asked, "Furthermore, how the hell did we not hear what was going on? This is a hallway, not a sound-proof box."

"Alma Wade more than likely had something to do with it, if I had to take a guess." Jin replied softly as she shook her head, "She can mess with how we perceive things. It's in the very nature of what she is. A monster. A ghost."

"I don't recall F.E.A.R. ever being about fighting ghos-"

"Yes you do." Michelle interrupted her comrade, "First Encounter Assault Recon. First Encounter being the keyword of it all. We get called in on all sorts of strange anomalies that may happen in the country. Or even outside of it, if it requires that much attention from the United States..."

"Ah." Logan said as he cleared his throat, "Right."

Becket groaned, "Kid. You're on point." He stated with impatience, wanting to just move already. They had spent too much time stationary.

Logan nodded before raising his rifle and proceeding down the hallway. He should have known that F.E.A.R. wasn't all it was cracked up to be by now. Nuclear explosions. Corpses everywhere. A full on war with them being right in the middle of the battlefield... Experiments, corrupt organizations, a corrupt government deal...

The true state of the world was a mess. Parasites like the Armacham Technology Corporation were leading the world into sheer chaos. Fairport wasn't going to be the only place that was affected by the wrath of Alma Wade. She wasn't going to just stop at the local level. She was going to spread nationally. Internationally. Her wrath would consume the Earth and leave it nothing but a fiery husk of its former glory. Though Alma could be stopped. She was still sentient. Conscious. She wasn't just an embodiment of wrath and pain, she was still that same broken girl her father made her become. That girl who was used as a test subject. That girl who was impregnated, only to have her children torn from her at birth. She still had some love within her, some good emotions, they were only buried beneath all of the hatred.

'I know who you are...' Alma stated, and as the Point Man walked passed a room with the help of Jin, he looked into his mother's fiery eyes. 'My baby...'

The man scowled as he turned his attention back to the floor in front of him. What did they even enter this place for? There was nothing here for them. Sure, a missing Lieutenant. They had their objective, they had Becket, they could have just knocked him out and forced him back into their base. They didn't have to do this extra step. As much as he knew that the lady needed their help... He didn't exactly feel the most helpful today.

Of course, he knew why they were doing this. Jin and the others wanted to be rather nice and polite about things with Becket. The Point Man just would have preferred to knock the man out and transport him back to the base. If there even was a base left for them. Regardless, he didn't have a say in how things were done this time around. He was used to working alone. Maybe this is what working with people felt like. Someone else was in charge.

"Where would she even be?" Logan asked, "This hallway isn't going to be going straight forever. There are other halls inside of this school, you know."

"We'll just have to search it in its entirety until we come across Miss Stokes." Jin replied as she shook her head, "I don't like not being informed either, Logan, but we're just going to have to live with it. We have a wounded man."

"Speaking of wounded men... we haven't heard from S.E.A.R. Are we sure they're alright?" Michelle asked.

Jin replied with a soft sound in her voice, "They always have radio silence unless it's absolutely necessary to them. It's just how they roll. We've had plenty of times where they wouldn't talk to anyone, and it stressed us all out."

Then silence fell over the squad as they continued their way through the halls.

* * *

"I'm a wee bit of a perfectionist, honestly. Someone should give me a bloody reward for it." Griffon stated as he looked at the door they had just broken into, the lock almost surgically broken apart. "Think there's a medal for tha'?"

Roddy then shook his head, "Nah, I don't think so, boss. I wonder how F.E.A.R. is holding up."

"They're probably fine. They have Jin with 'em anyways." The Squad Leader replied before heading into the classroom, turning his chest-light on, as well as his rifle's tactical light.

"Two squads of Black Ops down. Countless more to go. Why're we heading into this random ass classroom again, boss?" Jim asked as he scratched his cheek, "There's nothing in here."

Griffon shrugged, "Well, in your imagination there's nothing in here. There could be all sorts of things 'ere lad. Not to mention the fact that you cant just base something off of assumptions alone. You do realize that we're here to sweep the area for a Lieutenant, correct? That means we search the entire area. The enemy isn't going to leave 'er in a fuckin' obvious spot, FNG."

"Of course, sorry for questioning you, sir." The man said as he quickly looked around the room. Damn... this classroom was torn to shreds, and judging by the corpse in the corner, relatively recently.

Megan scowled, "Poor guy..."

Griffon nodded before replying in a rather grim tone, "Aye. Poor lad has Alma written all over his body an' walls in blood. She must have dragged the poor sod in here when he wasn't expectin' it." He explained, "She does tha' to people she isn't overly fond of. Roddy, Ajax, and I have seen it time and time again. Honestly, in my experience she's only a bitch if you give her reason to be one. Otherwise... well, we don't quite know yet."

"I've heard reports that apparently the civilian populace has been starting to go balls-to-the-wall crazy over Alma after the nuke went off." Ajax stated, "Asked a scientist type girl before we left why that would be. She said something about a potential psychic breakdown or something due to her powerful abilities. I personally feel like it's hogwash. If that was the case, then we'd all be bloody insane by now. Well, save for you FNGs."

"Roddy, secure the door with Jim. Megan, Ajax, you two check out the body. I'm going to search through the teacher's loot." Griffon ordered, and without questioning it people went right to work doing what he told them to do.

Griffon sighed as he made it to the teacher's desk, pushing the skeleton off of the chair, and then kicking the chair away so he had room to search the damned desk. It was filled with papers, one of said papers catching his eyes as it had writing in blood all over it. 'She's free... Tell Aristide... She's...' And the rest was just smears. The man shook his head before crumpling up that paper and sending it to the floor.

"Oi, Roddy, what can you tell me about one Aristide." He asked before checking the remainder of the documents on top of the desk.

"Aristide? As in Genevieve Aristide? She's up there in the Armacham food-chain. She's the one the United States dispatched Dark Signal to go after. I can tell you a few generalized things about her, but a lot of it is covered in black ink I haven't had time to clear up." The man stated with a soft sigh, "Unfortunately I don't think I ever will, with the direction this world is going in right now..."

"We don't need that cleared up anyway, mate. They were going after Aristide, she's a priority target, we need to locate and secure her." Griffon chuckled before scanning the room idly, "Alright. This room has nothing of interest. We're movin'."

Ajax nodded, "Roger that, Squad Lead, but before we do leave... don't you think it's odd that F.E.A.R. isn't checking in?"

Griffon laughed, amused by the question. "Really? You think it's odd? We're in an Armacham facility more or less. Our communications are probably being blocked. There's nothing we can do about it other than to keep moving. We're not cleaning up after them anymore, we're making the mess alongside them. We're sweeping the building and meeting up in the center. Now let's move."

"If I would have known we were being deployed to this place, I would have picked up schematics." Rodney stated with a sigh, following as the rest of his squad vacated the room. "I don't like going into the unknown. And those Replicas not attacking us...? I'm having a hard time believing anything anymore."

The Scot then groaned, "Bottle it all up for when we return. Right now we need to have our focus placed on finding the Lieutenant so we can get the fuck outta here." He stated, "Check your corners, it's been too quiet."

Their progression through the halls was rather uneventful. They came across a few dried bloodstains here and there, along with a few corpses, but nothing alarming. That was as much of a boon as it was a curse to the squad. Without any action, it made their path a little bit unclear to them. They knew that they had to sweep the school, but they couldn't help to feel like they were going in circles. It had been around an hour, and eventually they came to a large open area. The courtyard. On the other side was F.E.A.R.

"Oi!" Griffon called out, and they all raised their weapons before recognizing each other. "Glad to see you lot too! We haven't found any damned signs of the Lieutenant. She isn't h-"

"Yeah, I know, we came up with the same thing." Logan stated as he scratched at his neck, "It's rather unnerving."

Jin shook her head as she looked around, "There has to be something we missed. We need to retrace our footsteps."

Point Man then grabbed her by the shoulder and leaned forward, "Nurse's..." He whispered quietly, so only the woman could hear him, and then he glared over at Griffon. He then produced a keycard, and allowed the woman to take it.

She inspected it for a brief moment of time before shaking her head and looking up at Griffon. "We need to head back to the Nurse's Office. I want you and your squad to come with. I think it's better if we travel together now."

"Understood, ma'am." Griffon stated casually, "We're followin' your lead."

The reunited squads then turned around and went back to the wing of the school F.E.A.R. had approached from. The Nurse's Office didn't require too much traveling to get to. How the Point Man swiped a keycard was beyond Jin and the others. They had been watching him rather closely, and don't remember seeing him reach for anything. It had to have been from before they found him, surely. In reality, he had it placed on his person and he just discovered it as he went to check the side of his belt. It was a lucky find, and he did recall seeing a place to use it on in the Nurse's Office. It was almost completely hidden behind a bookshelf there. He had rather good perception capabilities.

When they arrived they saw a rather peculiar sight. A sight that wasn't there before. Bodies littered the ground, blade wounds being their demise by the looks of it. The Point Man then pulled Jin back behind him, making sure he was the first one to see whatever had happened. In front of the now-opened bookshelf was a Replica, slicing a Black Ops Soldier's right leg, causing him to kneel on it, and then the other leg so he was on both legs. Then the Replica grabbed the man's head by his hair, and pushed the rather beautifully crafted, sharp, and pointy blade into his throat before using his fist to push the corpse off of its length and turn around to greet the newcomers.

But in the Point Man's case, it wasn't a friendly greeting. Not like S.E.A.R. had received. Immediately the Replica lashed out towards the Point Man, the man blocking it with his rifle, which unfortunately got rendered useless due to how deep the blade cut into it. He then kicked the Replica back, going to slam the rifle parts against its head, but the assassin blocked the attack with his arms before pushing the Point Man back. Its counter attack was swift, and its reflexes almost on par with Point Man's. However, the child of Alma still had much more strength and training than the Replica that was attempting to take his life. As the blade swung close to the Point Man, he side stepped and grabbed the Replica's arm after the swing was completed, and he proceeded to twist it until the assassin was forced to let go of the blade. With his other hand, the Point Man grabbed the falling sword and with the pommel he began to repeatedly bash the Replica in the face before turning it around and running it through the back with its own blade.

It growled as it felt its spine get stabbed through, and soon enough all that remained was a corpse. The Point Man then turned to Jin and held out his hand for the keycard. Upon the woman rather reluctantly handing it to him, he inserted it into the slot and looked around, kicking the Replica's body out of the way.

"I don't understand, sir." Jim stated as he looked over at Griffon, "Why would the Replica attack one of our own? They didn't before. In fact, they helped us."

"Things change when business gets serious, kid, you'll learn to accept that." Ajax replied before Griffon even had the chance to, "We've been fighting those clones for awhile now. Unless you see them all as friends after all the shit they put us through, you shouldn't take anything they do to heart."

Jim then nodded, "Yeah. Sorry."

"Kid? He's in his late twenties." Griffon stated with a chuckle, "Give him a break, old man."

Ajax shrugged before responding with a grin, "Haven't you read his profile? The only real combat he's seen before signing on with us is a damned simulated battlefield." He stated, "It takes more than a little virtual reality simulation to make a boy a man. And chaos inside of those things is nothing like actual chaos. You don't feel the urge to live, because you know if you die the simulation just restarts, or you fail and get the boot out of the military."

"Hard-case." Griffon teased.

That made Ajax laugh, "Says the one in some fancy suit of armor that I want to break."

"Feisty." Griffon stated before the Point Man motioned for everyone to move into the uncovered elevator. "Wonder where this leads..."

Roddy then chimed in, "If only I had schematics..."

* * *

Once they reached the bottom of their elevator ride, they came to the realization as to what the nature of their destination was. A hidden facility, a laboratory hidden underneath an elementary school. It was a good cover. No one would have expected something like that, especially given how sinister such a thought was. The Point Man pondered what experiments must have gone on down here without any knowledge from the public. He recalled his childhood, as messed up and fragmented in his memory as it was. The man truly didn't know what to think. Didn't really care. It didn't pertain to anything that would make him want to care.

Logan took the lead again, though the Point Man wasn't too far behind him. They could hear gunshots ringing all throughout the facility. It was a damned warzone in here, and they were about to step right into it. The Elementary school on the surface had already been seized by Replica forces. Armacham wasn't worried about losing that part of the facility either. It was just a front they didn't need to put up anymore. Whatever they wanted, whatever their Black Ops had been sent here for... It was in this underground facility. Hence why all the fighting was going down inside of it rather than the school above.

As soon as they exited the hall that contained the elevator, they were all forced to the sides of the walls, with Logan and Jin taking cover near the door. They were taking shots from some of the Replicas that were proceeding down the hall. Griffon and the Point Man both rushed out, immediately firing on the clones without any hesitation. It was a minor squad, probably just trolling for engagements. Well, they got the engagement they wanted... they just didn't get the outcome they had wanted.

"Echo Team One, respond." Griffon heard one of the Replica's radio transmit. "Echo Team One isn't responding, Echo Five divert course to Echo One's last known position."

"Roger that, Command." Another voice stated.

"We need to move. Now, if we don't want another fight so soon." Griffon stated before urging everyone to come out of their rather shoddy cover positions.

Jin was rather surprised and looked around, "Where'd the Point Man go...?" She asked rather worriedly.

Griffon took a glance around as well before shaking his head, "No time. We need to move. He's a good soldier, he'll catch up. Now let's move."

The Point Man started to walk down the bright white corridor, and as the lights dimmed for a mere moment to the point of brief darkness, he readied his weapon. When the lights returned to full strength, he saw blood coating the walls, dripping down as if from the ceiling.

'Jackson...' Alma's voice said softly, 'My baby...'

He halted further progress before turning and facing his mother, this time she was taking a form he wasn't used to. The supple form she was torturing Becket with. The lively form, one that one could say was meant for seduction but really had more purpose to it than just that. When she reached out for the man, he took a step back and shook his head.

'I won't harm you, son...' She said softly, her eyes glowing as her black hair swayed in the breeze that was caused by the ventilation system. '...I love you too much to see fate take you from me like it did your brother... I'm glad he is gone, by the way, you did the right thing.'

Point Man felt his heartbeat pick up the pace, and immediately he thought of ways around this. He only had a few moments to react, but when the woman's hand found itself upon his cheek, his hand had merely grasped at her wrist. Were she going to kill him, it would have been too late. But instead he looked her over, unable to do much else right now as he felt like he had been petrified. She wasn't appearing quite like she had on countless occasions to Becket. No, instead, she was wearing a rather long, beautiful red dress. Her feet bloodied, but that wasn't anything new. He then placed his eyes back on hers and grunted.

"Why are you killing all of these people?" The man asked, "Why do so many have to die? You are abusing your power!"

'Or maybe my power is abusing me...?' Alma inquired as she tilted her head, 'There's many things going on, Jackson. I cannot control it all alone. The death in this city is a result of Armacham, not myself... My power isn't exactly easy to control, not after all they've done to me.'

The man bit his lip before sighing, "So you kill everyone else because of that? Innocent women, men, children..."

Alma's eyes fluttered as a sigh escaped her lips, 'I don't deliberately kill them. My power is unbridled now... Creatures of my nightmares run rampant, and my mere presence can drive lesser willed people to madness. Why you aren't affected by my presence is something I can only guess is because we're blood. Becket, the man I've been watching for awhile now... even he gets pain and headaches from my presence. I know he does. What I'm saying is... my target is Armacham, and because of what they did to me, there is a lot of collateral damage.' Her demeanor then shifted, 'Will you... will you help me? Please, Jackson?'

"So you can revel in my death like you have Paxton's?" He asked bitterly.

'You were my first child...' His mother informed him with a rather hurt expression, 'My smartest. Strongest... Paxton was helpful in not much more than my release. And sadly, he was too focused on gaining his own power. Eventually he would have become a nuisance to more than just Armacham and the governments of the world. He would have become a nuisance to me. I know you would never do anything like that, Jackson...'

The Point Man sighed as he shook his head, "What do you want help with? What are you planning?" He inquired, refraining from giving her an answer before she told him what her goals were.

'I want your help in isolating Becket.' Alma replied honestly, 'And furthermore, I would appreciate your help in destroying those who took you away from me. Armacham, and all who allowed their inhumane acts.'

"Armacham is a global company. Are you telling me you're wanting to wage war on a global level?" The man growled, "Do you have any idea how many innocent lives would be lost? Do you have any idea how much resources such a war would cost?"

The fiery orbs that were Alma's eyes flared at the challenging words, and she simply smirked. 'Do you have any idea how many innocent lives are already being lost as a result of Armacham? Of the governments that back them? Do you have any idea how many resources Armacham and those governments are burning for their own personal gains? There is so much in the world that those of common birth are not allowed to see. To know. Space travel is dumbed down, hidden cures, medical and scientific procedures to make a new generation of humans... You won't believe me, but I know you'll believe him.'

And just like that the woman vanished in the blink of his eyes, leaving only a silhouette of black ash in her wake. The Point Man raised his weapon up, knowing this sense of dread that was running through him now. He scanned the room which was slowly creeping into a black void. He started to move towards the door, but it was too late. Soon, it was like lights were turned on and he was in a bright, entirely white room and in the center was Rodney Betters.

"Sit down, bud." He ordered softly. "We've some talking to do."

 _'Betters...'_ The Point Man thought quietly to himself, moving to the opposite side of the table so he could look Betters in the eyes. _'...What does he have to do with her...'_

Rodney gave a small, almost fatherly smile before taking a long inhale and rather abrupt exhale. "I assume you've met our new management. Look, I know what you're thinking since I thought very much the same back when she first proposed this whole idea to me. But... When I thought it through it made more sense to be working for her than the government or Armacham.

The only reason all of this bloodshed has occurred is because of them. Armacham, and anyone who allowed them to take up a place of residency in their lands. The United States were one of their biggest supporters. Dark Signal was dispatched to locate and retrieve Aristide because she was important to the government, but most importantly, she was important to Armacham. They want her dead due to her messing up all of their operations in Fairport. Her actions led to Alma being freed, all assets in this city to become compromised, and she has recently went behind their backs to reopen the Origin facility. You know of this. You saw what happened as a result of it.

Bud, you know I wouldn't lead you in a direction if I didn't think it was the right one. I really wouldn't. It is imperative that **we** get a hold of Aristide before anyone else. It is imperative that we help rid this world of the major corruption that infects it like a plague. Existence needs to be rid of Armacham and their friends, once and for all, before they drag us all down into Hell with them. They've already started. The sky is burning, and Alma's nightmares are released upon the world wreaking havoc upon anything that moves. Alma herself, and her Replicas are not the enemies. Armacham, the nightmares they've caused, and anyone who supports or defends them, are. Plain and simple."

Alma then appeared behind Betters, staring at her son. "Join us, Jackson. Help me correct my ways... Help me secure Becket. Help me capture that witch. Join us in securing Fairport, the United States, and the greater world."

The Point Man remained in silence for some time, his eyes switching from Alma to Betters every so often. He was pondering his options. Truly thinking it through. What did he stand to lose from this? What did he stand to gain from this? What would be a result of Alma more or less ravaging the entire world for some sort of peace. He didn't know. But without a word he slowly nodded.

"Fine." He growled, "I will help you. But if you betray me or my people... I will find a way to destroy you."

Alma smiled before slowly walking around the table and pressing her hand onto his armored chest. "Good." Was all she said before her eyes flared and the Point Man screamed in agony.

Searing pain spread throughout the entirety of his body. He dropped his weapon, spreading his arms out and clenching his fists as tightly as he could. He then collapsed to his knees, and Alma released her hand from his chest. The pain was still there, but the intensity of it died down tremendously. He brought a hand up to his chest, looking at the scorch mark on his armor briefly before looking up at the woman. The look on his face was that of pain, and honest betrayal.

"Don't worry..." She cooed softly, "...It'll all be alright..."

His vision went black. He felt the cold ground meet with his face and then he drifted into darkness. Silence. Nothingness.

* * *

 **AN: Hey everyone. I feel it to be a little bit mandatory that I remind you all that this is set in an alternate universe of F.E.A.R. You'll see a lot of new concepts and the like blending into the already-established ones. Thus, the layout of certain locations may not hold true to the video games, or other renditions out there. The reason I feel this is necessary for me to say is due to what all will be going down in the chapters to come. Anyways, thank you for reading and it's good to be back! -Saren**

 **P.S. Some words / phrases may be off. Due to the size of the work, well, I hope you forgive me for things that escape me! :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Prologue: Rise of the Terror Guard**

 _Chapter 7: Retrieval and Evacuation_

 _20:33 Hours, Second Day_

* * *

"Where'd the Point Man go now?" Logan asked as he proceeded down one of the eastern hallways.

"Focus on the mission, soldier." Griffon stated, "The Point Man's a grown man. He can handle himself. Don't worry about him."

Jin didn't have such luck. She was always worrying about the Point Man. About Jackson. In the time she had worked with him, she had formed a bond that was nearly unbreakable at this point. Of course, there were still plenty of ways their relationship could go haywire, though she didn't see any of those happening any time soon. Thankfully. Regardless, her thoughts had to be on the mission. She knew that much. She wasn't going to let her worries for someone she considered her best friend cloud her judgement for her team. They had to locate Stokes and get her and Becket back to base.

As they were about to round a corner, Logan raised his hand and held a closed fist. Immediately everyone stopped and pressed their bodies against the wall nearest to the corner. 'Hold' was the silent order relayed by the current soldier on point. He must have heard something on the other side of the corner.

"Sir, we've checked the surveillance for Aristide." They overheard an ATC agent state, "She was here not too long ago, and she had a few Delta operatives on her tail. We've found and neutralized two of them, but another is holed up in the vault block."

"How'd she manage to evade you?" Another man inquired.

"Honestly, sir, Alma Wade intervened. We were beset by Remnants and Specters. The four of us were the only survivors." The first man replied, "We've identified her as First-Lieutenant Keira Stokes, a liaison to a Delta Force team known as Dark Signal. The other two were Corporal James Fox, and Sergeant First Class Harold Keegan."

"Squads Alpha and Beta, relocate to Vault Block Two. Neutralize any SFOD-D personnel in the area." They heard the man order, and that was when Becket snapped.

Before anyone could stop him, the man rounded the corner much like the Point Man would, and immediately began firing. His bullets tore through two of the unsuspecting men, but they had secured the area and he received return fire by the two others. Their leader crashed down against a wall, a bullet hitting him in the chest whilst the man he was talking two took one straight to the head. Becket groaned as he felt a bullet graze his leg, and he focused even more on the two remaining. They were dropped quickly, and Becket used his enhanced reflexes to evade the bullets.

The soldier immediately marched towards the Black Ops leader and pointed his rifle straight to the man's head, kicking him in the gut and causing him to cry out. "Where the fuck is Vault Block Two?" He demanded to know.

The ATC agent laughed, "Go choke on a bullet, grunt... your friend is dead. She locked herself in with test subjects that'll rip her to shreds. If Alma hasn't already reached her by now..."

Becket snarled and shot the man as the rest of the group came around the corner, Jin and Ajax leading the charge. "Becket... That was reckless. Calm down, or you're going to end up getting yourself, and the rest of us killed." The former warned him.

"We need to find that vault." Becket informed Jin, "Now!"

"I really fucking wish I had my fucking schematics..." Roddy stated, "It has to be close by. We just have to listen. It'll be where the gunshots and screams are."

Becket nodded slowly before lowering his rifle. "Alright. Well, let's keep moving. Maybe we can get there **before** shit hits the fan."

"Not likely. Not when Armacham is involved. But you're right, we do need to double-time it if Ms. Stokes is to survive this mess." Roddy replied.

Griffon readied his rifle and started moving, taking the lead in his new body meant for battle. "Less chit-chat, more shooting, lads!" He called back as he rushed down the hall with the others following him closely.

Becket felt his heart kick into overtime. He was worried to death about Keira. He couldn't lose her, not like the rest of his squad. Aside from her, he was praying that Manny made it out safe and sound. Knowing that man, he more than likely was running over Replicas and ATC Soldiers alike. Good ol' Manny.

As they made their way down the halls, they found more and more corpses. It looked like those Replicas from before made it deeper into the facility than they had first suspected. What with that one assassin top-side near the elevator. It was unsettling, as it told them that they didn't know what to expect. They were already expecting abominations spawned from Alma, and even Alma herself, as well as Armacham soldiers. But Replicas? This underground facility was going to turn into a warzone real quick, wasn't it?

They rounded another corner, which turned them from the East Corridor to the North Corridor. As they went to pass through the first set of reinforced metal and bulletproof doors, they all had to duck and move behind the closed door as to avoid any bullets flying through the open one. An Armacham rendezvous point.

"Targets spotted towards East Corridor!" They heard one of the soldiers shout, and immediately Griffon charged in from cover. "Woah!"

"What the fuck is he wearing?!" Another shouted, and those in cover could hear the bullets firing and hitting Griffon's armor.

His armor was rather resilient to gunfire, and should they manage to penetrate his armor somehow, whether through multiple concentrated rounds, or hitting him in one of the vulnerable spots in his armor like around the joints it wouldn't matter too much. It was state-of-the-art technology. The armor itself was resilient, but even should it be stripped he would be one lethal foe. The layer beneath the armor was capable of fixing itself on the field, more or less requiring a **lot** of damage before it was rendered useless. The metal itself could deflect most rounds. The truly terrifying aspect of it would be that this powerful suit of armor that this man wore was a prototype. It required machinery to remove it from him, unless it was something as simple as his helmet. He was a walking juggernaut.

"God help us! Retre-aaaah!" A soldier screamed, his voice eventually getting drowned out by gunfire.

"Hall's clear." Griffon stated, "No enemies left. Wait." He added before turning and looking at one of the soldiers who merely got hit in the shoulder, and was pretending to be dead. He quickly dispatched him. "Now there's no hostiles."

Becket was the first to walk out from his cover, and looked around at the carnage. That wasn't normal... A suit like what Griffon was wearing. He had known that for some time now, but the power behind it intimidated him. Hell, it probably intimidated everyone who could see it. One thing that was surprising was that it didn't make a lot of noise, for such heavy looking armor.

Gunshots and other sounds of warfare were now being heard further down the corridor. They had two more sets of doors to get through before taking a left to the northernmost room. There they'd enter the Vault Block they were looking for. It sounded like the Armacham squads had finally arrived for Keira.

"Griffon, S.E.A.R., take Becket and help out Lieutenant Stokes. Michelle, Logan, you're coming with me." Jin ordered as she looked around, "There has to be a central room located here. We need some intel about this place before it all gets destroyed. It could help us in the long run."

"Take Roddy with ya then." Griffon stated, "In fact, take Ajax too. Jim and Megan are with me an' Becket."

"Alright. Let's go! We don't have time to waste! Good luck, Griffon!" Jin said before the two groups split apart.

Becket nodded, "Let's get going."

He needed to get to Keira, and with such a thing in mind he continued on without waiting for Griffon or the others. He wasn't going to let anything stop him from reuniting with his fellow squad-mate. Especially not since she was quite possibly the last one alive from Dark Signal, liaison or not, she was one of them. They fought together and bled together, and that was all Becket needed to know. Not only that, but he had some deeper feelings for the Lieutenant. Not that he'd admit it to anyone right now.

There weren't any real obstacles between them and Keira now, at least not until they got a little bit closer to the woman. When he passed through the first out of two sets of doors, he only saw blood and bullet casings. On top of that, the sounds of battle were growing louder, and louder until he reached the second set of doors. He kicked one of the doors open, which was only able to be done due to the fact that it was already cracked open, and tossed a fragmentation grenade inside.

"Get to cover!" He heard one of the Black Ops soldiers shout, "Grenade!"

When the explosive went off he heard two men scream as their bodies were torn into by pieces of shrapnel. Not a pleasant way to go down, but it was a good thing Becket acted as quickly as he did. He wasn't the first to enter what lied beyond the doors, however, that honor was left to Griffon who plowed right on through the soldier that was about to peek in on them. As he ran into the soldier, the man was kicked aside forcefully and his comrade behind him got grabbed by Griffon's left hand and raised off of the ground. His suit, after all, gave him superhuman strength.

"AGH! HE'S GOT- AAAARRRRRGH!" The soldier screamed as the metal hand crushed down on his skull, and shattered it.

The two squads of Black Ops were now split. One of them was firing on whatever was inside the vault, whilst the other was trying to deal with Griffon. The Scot tossed the limp corpse of the man onto his friend who had just started to get up after getting slammed against a wall and knocked down to the floor. That'd keep him busy for a little longer.

Becket quickly peeked from cover, and with the help of Jim, they began firing on the soldiers firing into the vault whilst Griffon dealt with the others. He was a rather helpful diversion in Becket's mind, intimidating or not.

"Sir! This is Alpha Four requesting immediate assistance at Vault Block Two! We're taking heavy casualties, and the enemy have some sort of power-" One of the soldiers started to shout into his radio before Griffon gunned him down.

Griffon looked down at his right arm and saw some blood on the plate, sighing loudly at the realization that a bullet penetrated the gel layer. Luckily, the bullet had been suppressed to the point it barely dug into him and the suit's functions acted as an automatic bandage to hold him over until he got to safety.

"Becket, rush in to save your girl. I'll stay 'ere and make sure none of those reinforcements get to ya." Griffon stated with a grunt as he looked around at the bodies, "Be careful in there. I'd imagine it's not called a vault for no reason."

Becket nodded with appreciation before rushing into the Vault Block, Jim and Megan right behind him. This was going to be easy now that Armacham's Black Ops had been dealt with. They just had to get Keira and get out. Simple. Right?

"Woah..." Megan remarked as she looked around the Vault Block, which looked rather futuristic.

It was a large, dark-grey metal room that was lit by bright white lights that looked rather decorative as it traced the walkways and walls. It was an impressive sight. Other than that, there were pods all over the place that contained...

"Are those children inside of those pods?" Jim asked, "What the hell is Armacham doing to children?"

"No signs of life... They must be in some kind of stasis." Megan added before Becket shushed them.

He looked down on the ground and saw some blood spatter. He followed the tracks to the right and soon saw four pods that had fallen from their places. Four children lied on the ground, deceased. Killed by gunfire.

"Keira!" He shouted before rushing straight over to the pods, noticing that one of them contained his comrade.

Immediately he tried to smash the glass, and pry at the hatch. Nothing was working. Nothing would work either. He tried pressing some buttons located on a terminal to the right but that didn't do shit. He grew frustrated, and resumed trying to break through the glass.

"It's meant to keep people like me inside, should we awaken from our slumber." He heard a voice state honestly. "You won't even scratch the materials that make up that polymer."

Immediately Jim and Megan turned and pointed their weapons at the sound. Before their very eyes stood a child in a rather bland grey suit. "Woah... Where'd you come from?" Jim asked the young boy who couldn't have been any older than fourteen.

"You passed me as you entered the Vault Block." He stated simply, "I'm surprised you didn't notice. I took a bullet to the shoulder, after all. It's not like I can hide my blood until the wound closes."

"Why is she in here? How do I release her?" Becket demanded to know, his frustration showing in his voice.

The boy shrugged, "I put her in there. When she entered the vault, I was awoken by someone in the control center. My assumption is that they had planned for me to kill her. When they saw that I wasn't going to, they released some of my friends. Friends they drove insane during the experiments. When they didn't listen to me, and tried to attack her... We both dispatched them with haste. When I heard the soldiers approaching, I sealed her in my pod to keep her safe whilst I tended to the threat. To release her... well, you'd have to get to the control center. I'm sure a hostile force to Armacham has already seized control of it, however, as they didn't send any others like they could have."

"Who are you?" Megan asked, "How old are you?"

"Subject Four-Fourteen. I... don't know how old I am. You'd have to find my documents. Also in the control center." He stated softly.

Becket growled, "Damn it. Jim, head back out to Griffon and tell him to contact Jin and her squad. We're going to hole up here until the pod opens."

"Might I suggest taking up a defensive perimeter in that corner until your friends release her?" 414 suggested as he pointed over to the corner beside Keira's pod. "You could provide covering fire in the event that any of my friends are released from their stasis, or enemy reinforcements arrive."

The Delta Force operative nodded, "Yeah. That's a good idea, but how are we going to move the pods? They seem rather heavy."

The boy shrugged, "Simple." He stated before walking passed Becket and pushed a corpse off of one of the pods. Then he grabbed onto the pod and started to push it over until it was flush against the wall that the back of Keira's pod was against. Soon enough, they had a barricade.

"Damn..." Was all Megan could say, stunned by such a display of strength from someone so young.

* * *

"Alright, Control Center is dead ahead." Roddy stated, "It's in the center of the compound."

Ajax chuckled, "You got your hands on half a map and you already know the layout to the damned facility. How the hell do you do that?"

The man shrugged in response, "I just have a knack for it."

"F.E.A.R. This is Griffon. Come in." Jin heard over the radio, and as such the group halted in the hallway.

The woman responded shortly after looking around, "What's the situation over there, Griffon? Everything alright?"

"Fifty-fifty. We've located the Lieutenant, but we need you to find the control room and release her. She's stuck in a pod. We've also located one Subject Four-Fourteen. A kid. Armacham is testing on children." Griffon informed her before sighing, "A lot of 'em. Four KIA. They tried attacking Stokes and Four-Fourteen."

"Children? Damn. Alright, we'll go faster." Jin replied.

"While you're there, search for any intel that you may find, especially regarding Four-Fourteen. We should know more about this kid. He's much stronger than he looks."

"Copy that. See you soon." Jin concluded before they resumed their current path to the Control Center.

Soon enough they reached the corridor that held the entrance to the Control Center. Logan immediately opened fire on the two Replicas guarding the door. He wasn't going to be playing around. Not after the assassin near the elevator attacked. These guys weren't friendly, at least as far as he knew, and he wasn't about to ask them. Immediately three others poured from the room, firing in the group's direction. Everyone ducked down and got behind any cover they could find. Ajax and Logan, however, were exposed as they worked together to suppress the enemy. The Replicas weren't the most heavily armored opponents, and so they fell fairly quickly, but not before giving Logan a few close-calls.

"Enemies outside! Block the door and don't let them in!" A Replica ordered rather firmly.

"Understood." Another replied.

Before the Replicas could close the door, Ajax had already tossed a fragmentation grenade. Their shouts filled the air before the explosive went off, and the F.E.A.R. team breached the room. Bullets were now flying in all directions. When the guns stopped their singing, all that was left was bullet holes and dead Replicas. Immediately Ajax pointed at the large terminal.

"Oi, Jin, you might want to take a look for any useful files. Roddy, search for a proper map of this facility. Michelle, look for this Four-Fourteen's release, and Logan search the Replicas and listen in to make sure they aren't planning anything special. I'll keep a look out for any enemies wanting to catch us by surprise." He stated.

Jin nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Let's get moving, we don't have all day here. We need to get back home."

Ajax scanned the area, his rifle lowered now as there weren't any signs that enemies would be coming after them. He didn't hear anything over the Replica Comms either, which was a rather good thing. Unlike those under Paxton's command, these Replicas learned the art of keeping communications a little bit more quiet. However, Logan wasn't informing him of any unusual traffic pertaining to them, thus he knew that they were okay for now.

"Hah! Got it!" Michelle stated happily, "Oh shit... That was Two-Fourteen."

"Damn it, we have people down there, Michelle! Get your head in the game!" Ajax growled, "Griffon, this is Ajax. Keep an eye out. One of the test subjects were rel-"

"This is bad! Real bad! I can't stop it, but they're all releasing! It's like someone is interfering from somewhere else!" Michelle stated as she started to panic.

"Griffon, get the hell out of there! The entire vault is getting released!" Ajax shouted into his radio. "Griffon?! Come in!"

* * *

Griffon rolled his shoulders as he watched Keira reanimate from her coma. She started breathing, and her eyes opened. A good start! He then looked over at the children who had been released. About sixteen of them were all that made it. Eight went insane and tried to attack, but they were cut down by the others. The rest? Dead in their pods.

"So, Four-Fourteen. What's the plan with you lot? We can take you with us if you'd like. I'm sure your skills would come in handy." Griffon inquired.

Becket was too focused on Keira to be listening to anything Griffon and the kid had to say to each other. He placed his hand on her shoulder as the woman came to.

"Becket...? How'd you..." She asked with her voice rather weak, almost like she had just awoken from a groggy sleep.

The man smiled, "A F.E.A.R. team brought me here. We're getting you out of here and bringing you back to a safe location away from this mess. We're not out of the woods yet, but when we are I owe you a drink or fifty."

"Damn... right..." She whispered before resting her head back and falling back into slumber.

"Keira?" He asked before shaking his head and pulling her from the pod, carrying her over his shoulders. "We need to get out of this place before we're trapped here for good." He said aloud as he walked over to Griffon.

The man in armor nodded, "Aye, Four-Fourteen and I were just discussing that. We figure if we leave now, we can use the cover of darkness to our advantage all the way back to the base."

Becket raised an eyebrow, "You're telling me we're escorting all these kids across a warzone-"

"We were meant to live a life of war, Sergeant Becket." Four-Fourteen stated as he looked up at the man. "All of us. Some were meant to lead armies, others meant to lead squads, and others meant to follow one of the designated leaders. But we all are meant for war."

"All of you are meant for war, huh? Well what one are you?" Becket asked, "Leader or follower?"

"We were never administered our final tests. So, unfortunately, I cannot say." The boy replied, "All I can say is that we are already much more capable than your average soldier. With our combined powers we can help you all clear a path until we return to your base."

"Whatever you say." Becket huffed, "Let's go meet up with the others. They were in the Control Center, yeah?"

Griffon nodded, "Yeah, and we haven't heard from them so they could probably use our help."

"Well? Let's move, then!" Becket said before taking the lead, shortly passed by Griffon as Becket wasn't in the most combat oriented position.

* * *

"Area secured." Ajax stated as he reloaded his weapon, inspecting the soldiers that had attacked them. "More ATC goons. Nothing too major, no doubt some of the remnants from the data denial crew."

"I got everything we need," Jin stated, "We should probably render this facility useless to both Armacham and the Replicas. Taking down the reactors-"

"That'd cause another explosion." Ajax interrupted, "A better idea is just to erase the data."

Jin nodded before turning and opening fire on the computer systems, "Toss a grenade on the way out for good measure."

Logan spoke up as he walked over to Ajax. "Griffon's team is on the move. We should wait here to link up with them before heading out."

"Indeed. Any sightings from the Point Man?" The man inquired, wondering where he had vanished.

Logan shook his head, "Nothing on the cams, Replica chatter, or even ATC's to indicate of him even being here. I think he vacated the facility for some reason. Hell, reviewing the security footage shows him disappear after rounding a corner."

"Alright. Once we hit topside we'll start calling out for him over the radio. Wherever he is, he'll find his way back to us." Ajax stated with a chuckle before nodding at Jin, "He's probably just making sure we have a way out or something. Nothing to worry about."

"I know, Ajax." Jin replied, "I've been working alongside the Point Man much longer than you. I know what he gets up to when he disappears. I've also patched him up countless times whereas you have not..."

The man nodded, not exactly liking her tone. He would make a mental note to stay away from her for a little bit. Why she was worked up was beyond him, but they were in the field and that meant tensions were high right now. He then turned his attention back to the door and remained in his silence. All they had to do now was wait, and hope that they weren't attacked whilst they did so. They wouldn't be though. There weren't any Black Ops soldiers left in the facility, as they all had retreated due to the Replica presence in the area getting to be a bit too much. The Replicas were getting the upper hand in the fighting. Of that, there was no doubt. They would have Fairport under their control within the next few days. Armacham was going to have a victory in another way, however, with the information they were preventing from ever reaching Alma's hands.

The United States didn't really have much of a foothold in Fairport, most of their forces having already been spent during Alma's breakout. Delta teams were the only real substantial United States military force in Fairport now, and most of those teams were broken apart or pinned down somewhere. Fairport was being contained by the United States, however, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. No, the United States had decided to leave the recovery of Fairport to Armacham, whilst they wanted Aristide for questioning.

Twenty minutes had passed before Griffon and the others finally arrived at the Control Center. After exchanging a few witty greetings, the reunited group evacuated the area after Ajax chucked a grenade into the room. That explosive did its job and rendered every piece of equipment in there useless.

"Why so many kids, sir?" Ajax asked Griffon as they rushed down the corridors, heading back to the elevator.

"They were test subjects of Armacham. They've been through and survived Hell. We're bringing them back to base. They want to help us fight." Griffon explained.

Jin cleared her throat, "Wait, what? They're just-"

"We said the same thing." Becket chimed in, "They say they're augmented for combat, made for it, breathing for it. So I figure we may as well let them prove that. Four-Fourteen has already done that in saving Keira's life."

"Very well." Jin stated, not in the mood to get into a discussion about this right now. Everyone, including her, was exhausted from their little mission to retrieve Becket. There wasn't any time to talk until she got at least eight hours of sleep.

The rest of their journey to the elevator was uneventful. Other than the facility threatening to seal them inside due to the damage sustained to the Control Center. Armacham must have set up some preventative measures in case of this facility becoming compromised. It was understandable, given what they had found out about it. Luckily Jin had that information now, and she'd be able to give it to Betters when they returned for him to analyze. When they reached the surface they saw multiple dead bodies littering the floor of the office, and the Point Man standing in the doorway looking at them. He motioned for them to follow, and the larger group did.

"F.E.A.R. and S.E.A.R. teams, we're at the LZ waiting to pick you up." Griffon heard Hornet state, "There's a nice warm meal and some drinks back home for ya."

"Good to fuckin' hear it, mate." Griffon huffed, "What took you so long? Why'd Command go dark on us?"

"It's been busy there. Betters was in a meeting with our new allies, and everyone was getting brief on what was going to be happening. Replica forces are friendly." Hornet responded, "Sounds like we're going to war with Armacham and their supporters, but I'll let Betters explain more once you get home."

Logan groaned, "Like Hell they are! A Replica tried to turn the Point Man into a fucking kabob, and that's not even touching the fact that we were getting fired upon in that facility."

"Replica Command must not have gotten to those soldiers yet. That facility does interfere with communication." Hornet stated, "But you can bring up concerns and the like with Betters. I'm just your chauffeur. Well, Wasp too."

"Huh, glad to hear you're here Wasp. You're unusually quiet." Jin stated now sounding more friendly than she was down in the facility.

"Just jammin' to some tunes while I wait for you slowpokes to load up." The pilot replied with a chuckle, his voice rather difficult to hear with all the background noise,"So hurry it up, we can all jam together on the way back home."

Jin gave a soft laugh, "Alright, we're on our way. You two should know that we're bringing about sixteen-ish people with us."

"We'll make it work." Hornet stated, "Somehow. Can't tell you what Command is going to think about it, but who cares. They can't do much once we get them home."

"My thoughts exactly." Jin said in agreement, "So what are the Replicas going to do here?"

"To my knowledge they're just going to hold the place down. Maybe make it into some sort of base, recover some knowledge to perhaps use it against Armacham." The Pilot stated, "That's what we would do with it if we were capturing it."

Everyone in the group fell silent as they made their way out of the Elementary School. As they rushed towards the front doors, they were passed by multiple different squads of Replicas. Their focus wasn't on them, but rather wherever they were heading. When they reached the main lobby they saw the unloading process, Replicas carrying in crates of supplies as well as other Replicas maintaining guard positions around the entrance and lobby area. To the group, they were rather surprised that this was happening. After all, they had just engaged Replicas not too long ago. Then again, it could have been a simple lack of communication on the part of the Replicas that were here first. They may not have heard their Commanders tell them to let Jin and Griffon's teams pass unscathed. Who knew?

When they made it outside, well, it definitely wasn't a breath of fresh air. No, instead they saw the skies darkened by the many fires roaring throughout the city. Fairport was already war-torn and it was only going to get worse. Until everything was settled, the city would be on fire for many days. Corpses littered the ground as well. It seemed that the retreating Armacham forces had been shot down by the approaching Replica platoon. Damned fine work, in all honesty, as Armacham had quite the arsenal that was now on fire and in multiple pieces. They then saw the helicopters that were waiting there for them to board. A welcomed sight to be sure.

"Alright, we'll split the kids up. Some go with S.E.A.R. and the others come with us." Jin stated, and the sorting process began whilst Becket loaded himself and Keira up into F.E.A.R.'s helicopter.

One everyone was set up, Roddy took a seat and groaned. "Ahhh, fuck... It's been awhile since I had a nice relaxing seat..." He huffed as he looked up at Griffon, "I can only imagine how excited you are to get out of that metal suit..."

Griffon shrugged as the helicopter began to take off, "It's not that bad. It shifts around for my comfort, and it has a rather nice air conditioning module it would seem. Each time I get hot, it cools me down."

"Lucky ass." Roddy replied with a chuckle, "Hopefully you still remember what it was like to be with us people who didn't get outfitted with a prototype."

"I do. Don't worry." Griffon reassured the man, "But you are right. I can't wait to get this shite off. I really have t'piss."

The flight home was thankfully uneventful. Everyone was exhausted, and it was getting really damned late. However, the sky was ablaze with fire and choked with a thick smoke so that one couldn't tell if it were day or night. But they felt it. Oh, how they all felt it. Exhaustion. They just had to wait to get home, get debriefed, clean up, and then pass out.

* * *

The Point Man groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, seeing Alma staring down at him. Immediately he went to grab his sidearm that was always on his side, but he didn't find anything there but his holster. Then he went to physically push Alma away from him, only for her to use her powers to pin him down and make it virtually impossible for him to move.

"Your friends succeeded in their mission..." Alma stated softly as she placed her hand on that aching spot upon his chest, causing it to burn in reaction to her presence. "...They're coming here, and they'll join our cause..."

"Why..." Jackson grunted through clenched teeth.

Alma looked into his eyes, "My branding didn't hurt you that bad...did it? It's just a small burn...Lets me know if you truly have the strength you need to be a part of our new little project. Betters likes to call it Project Terror Guard. As in, guardians against terror...or maybe guardians who bring terror to our foes?"

"Where am I?" He huffed, feeling Alma take her hand away and allowing him to sit up. "Where's Jin?"

"She's on her way, bud." The Point Man heard Betters state, "And you're home, in the infirmary. You had some wounds that we wanted to tend to before we let you loose again. You really got banged up on the field this time, y'know that?"

Jackson only huffed in amusement, "Yeah, almost as banged up as when she sent me flying through a window..."

"Not my fault you were being difficult, trying to stop your brother from releasing me..." Alma replied, making herself sound innocent.

The Point Man then placed his mind back on business, "So how are you going to get everyone to follow her, Betters? She's claimed the lives of many friends to our people. We've lost a lot to her anger. And yes, I have seen **you** do it with my own eyes, mother."

Betters sighed as he crossed his arms, "Honestly, we've already told everyone the truth. Everyone is on board for the most part. No one likes Armacham, and knows that if that damned corporation didn't do shit like they have, Alma would still be alive and all of our issues wouldn't have been issues. They've forgiven her, at least enough to work with her. Honestly, a lot of us don't have homes to return to anyway. We're all we have.

The only ones that we have yet to talk to is your F.E.A.R. Team, and S.E.A.R. But Griffon has already accepted it.

And virtually no one cares about the Replicas as long as they are on our side and controlled by someone we know we can trust."

The man nodded, "And no one else can gain control of them?"

Alma shook her head, "Not if we capture their production facilities as and get other Commanders for them. I've already captured their storage and command facilities, which gives me access to the orbital reserve as well..."

"So the problem lies in external Replica Forces. Not the Fairport ones." The Point Man deduced aloud before sighing, "They can't produce Replicas outside of Fairport, can they?"

"They could, but such a program would mean that they created their own augmented people, and new Replicas. We believe that's what Aristide's purpose was for taking Dark Signal in for augmentation surgeries. Creating soldiers who could not only take care of Alma, but perhaps take control of the Replicas so they couldn't cause any more of a problem for Armacham." Betters concluded, "But Armacham has the resources to get what they need. Luckily, they shouldn't be able to take over our Replicas. Not with the work we're putting into maintaining ourselves. The Terror Guard being a major part of that defense system."

"How so?" Jackson inquired.

"Alma's power is immense, but it can't sustain the Replicas forever. Not on her own, at least. Project Terror Guard is similar in many ways to some of Armacham's projects, the only difference being that we are ensuring we get those who are willing to join. Already part of the Project has shown itself to be successful. Griffon wielding the TGB Mark Five is proof of that." Rodney stated, "Becket's friend, Keira Stokes, will prove if another aspect of the Project is successful."

"Hold on, you've had other iterations of the armor? How are you on Mark Five already?" He inquired.

"We originally got the plans through one of S.E.A.R.'s missions. They recovered some Armacham documents about a new suit of armor. The Mark One suit failed. We altered the original plans three other times. All ended in some form of failure. The Mark Five, however, seems to be working great." The man informed Jackson before standing up, "Well, they should be here any moment. I'll send Jin in to check up on you after the debriefing. Welcome to the Terror Guard, Jackson, I know that we'll get this world sorted out together."

The Point Man lowered his head, "Yeah..."


End file.
